Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night
by Squall Thrawn
Summary: After being dumped by Gabriella, Troy just wants to drink and forget about it. But after a party at the Evanses, Troy wakes up unaware of the entire night's events. What happened? How much did he drink? And why did he wake up next to Ryan Evans? Tryan!
1. How the Hell Did I Get Here?

A/N: Hi, this is Squall Thrawn, back to after a long absence. I was drawn to this particular category for reasons I can't actually recall, and I read a good portion of this section without ever seeing the actual movie. And now that I've seen it… it's stuck in my brain… the songs, that is. Plus, I now have a full-on crush on Lucas Grabeel now. Every scene he's in, my response is "oh, he's so cute!!" I haven't actually seen HSM2 yet, but I'm planning to. I've sorta gathered what happened in it, so this story is set the following March. Only two months before they graduate. Enjoy!!

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

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Picking up the Pieces of a Lost Night

Chapter 1 - How the Hell did I get Here?

As the morning sun rose in the sky, it managed to finally reach the top of the tree line and shine into the second-floor window of the beautiful estate in Albuquerque. As the sun's rays of light entered the room, they landed directly on a sleeping, shirtless brunette lying on his back in a king-size bed. That early morning light was bright, piercing, and the brown-haired boy awoke to those blinding rays.

"Fuckin' sun," Troy Bolton managed to say, rolling over to his side. He tried to fall back asleep, but his stomach had other ideas. Whatever it was that he had done the previous night, his stomach was protesting for, and Troy struggled to keep himself from vomiting. Not to mention that his mouth felt dry and his head was killing him.

"Fuckin' hangovers," were the next words out of Troy's mouth. Drinking the previous night had seemed like such a good idea. Gabriella had broken up with him almost a week ago, citing irreconcilable differences. And that was about the only part that Troy understood about the situation; afterwards, Gabi had pulled out quite a few more big words. As far as Troy could translate them, it basically meant that she wasn't interested in Troy any more… and from a certain glint in her eyes, he thought she had found somebody else more interesting.

"Fuckin' girlfriends." Troy really hadn't done much dating before Gabriella, basketball taking up most of his waking hours. After the Twinkle Towne musicale, though, Troy had liked being part of a couple. And after the previous summer's events at Lava Springs, Troy never would've understood how much it hurt to be part of a couple, and to lose that other person. Sharpay's conniving had nearly done so, but Troy had come to his senses in time. After all of the trials they'd been through, Troy had been fairly sure he deserved more than the shitty explanation Gabi had given him. Given that she was now avoiding him as much as possible, Troy had no more idea of why she did it than when she first told him. Frustrated at the impasse, Troy had wanted nothing more than a night where he didn't have to think of her.

Naturally, Troy was popular enough that the opportunity came soon afterwards. If you knew who to talk to, and you had enough popularity, you could be invited a party, somewhere, any old weekend. A party with alcohol, of course. What was the point, otherwise?

This party was a little different from the others, though, because it was being held at the Evans Estate. Sharpay and Ryan Evans, East High's own Drama Queen and Drama King respectively, were throwing their annual St. Patrick's Day blowout. Ever since the summer's events, Troy, to his amazement, was actually getting along with the Evanses. Sharpay, naturally, still had her bitchy side, that one learned to deal with. Ryan, however, once he had come out of Sharpay's shadow, had proven to be a surprisingly genial person. The bitchy side that made Sharpay prickly and hard to deal with appeared in her brother as witty repartee. He could bitch just as much as Sharpay, and sometimes more so, but Troy never got the sense that the other boy meant any harm in his words. It came out instead as cutting humour that seemed to target Ryan himself as much as Troy or the others. Also, given Ryan's proclivity towards calm, rational thoughts, Troy found himself preferring Ryan's company to Chad's or Zeke's when he had something serious to talk about.

The best part about the St. Pat's Day party was that the Evans always supplied more than enough alcohol to meet the needs of their guests. And beds to sleep off the hangovers. Which, presumably, was where Troy was at that moment.

Troy wrinkled his brow. He didn't seem to remember going to bed last night. Matter of fact, he didn't remember most of the previous night at all. He recalled arriving at the party with Chad and greeting Sharpay and Ryan at the door. He remembered grabbing a drink and exchanging a few words with Ryan. Troy strained to remember more. Didn't he do a few shots with Jason and Zeke? Troy seemed to recall that. Then he remembered being interrupted by somebody. He remembered that that person was upset about something, but he couldn't remember what was going on, or even who it was. It went a little fuzzy after that. Followed by even hazier moments. Did he help the upset individual out? Troy wasn't sure, but he remembered walking back down the stairs, alone, afterwards. All that followed that was alcohol and more alcohol. And then blackness. Until the sun had rudely woken him up.

It was at this point that Troy was rather unexpectedly jolted out of his thoughts when a warm, bare arm was suddenly placed on his waist. Somebody else was in the bed with Troy, and he in his hungover state had not even realized it yet. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, Troy looked over to see who was sharing his bed. Despite everything that had happened, Troy was actually hoping to see Gabi and her black hair resting on the pillow beside him. The creamy whiteness of the arm around him exposed the reality of the matter though, and Troy wasn't too surprised to see that his companion in bed had blonde hair.

'Looks like Sharpay finally got her wish,' Troy thought, shaking his head. The girl had been gunning for him the entire previous summer, and Troy wasn't too surprised to see that she'd taken her opportunity to get him in the same bed as her when the situation had come up.

Just then, the blonde shifted, and Troy stared over in horror at the sight of a peacefully slumbering Ryan Evans. 'Shit, shit, shit,' Troy cursed mentally. He liked the less needy of the Evans twins quite a bit actually, as a friend. He had come to terms, years ago, that Ryan was gay. The other boy had never actually come out to Troy, but even Troy wasn't completely oblivious. At the same time, though, Troy wasn't at all interested in Ryan that way. Not even remotely.

With that, Troy was out of the bed immediately. He could only imagine what it would've looked like to Chad or the other guys. Luckily, he still had his pants on. That, in and of itself, relieved him. If he'd actually done something with Ryan, no doubt he wouldn't put his jeans right back on.

His head still pounding and his stomach on the verge of emptying itself out with every step he took, Troy managed to stagger out of the room, which he finally, in his sleep-hazened state, recognized as Ryan's own bedroom. Walking down the hallway to the bathroom, Troy splashed some water in his face, trying to wake up a little more. Hopefully, somebody else was awake by now, and perhaps Troy could get a ride home from that person, having rode in with Chad.

As Troy approached the Evanses' kitchen, he could hear laughter coming from within. The kitchen door opened, and Taylor appeared before him.

"Hey, Troy," said Taylor, her voice calm and collected. "Did you sleep well?" With that seemingly innocent comment, though, it seemed that she was almost struggling not to grin.

Troy merely grunted, not having the time to figure out what seemed to be amusing her. After all, it surely couldn't have been that she knew that Troy had somehow ended up in Ryan's bed, could it? If Troy had been wide awake, he would've been freaked out at the possibility that anybody knew, but sleepiness was dulling his paranoia.

Continuing on to the kitchen, Troy could hear the unmistakable sound of Chad's laughter. Troy cracked a smile as well, at that sound. Chad was a great friend, and could always cheer Troy up.

"Morning, guys," Troy said, as he walked into kitchen. Chad was there, of course, as were Zeke and Jason. They looked to be laughing at a sheet of paper that appeared to have blown-up picture on it.

"Sleep well, Troy?" Jason was the first to respond, a smirk on his face. Troy started to feel uneasy about things. It could hardly be a coincidence that both Jason and Taylor had asked him how he'd slept.

"My head is killing me," Troy groaned, hoping that it was just a coincidence.

"Just your head, eh?" Zeke said, and the other boys snickered.

"Ok, what the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Troy demanded, getting tired of the innuendos.

"Nothing, man," Chad said, chuckling. "It's just, you looked like you enjoyed where you were sleeping last night. Well, you and somebody else." Still chuckling, Chad handed Troy the sheet of paper. "We took that last night with Sharpay's digital camera; you can have that copy."

Troy's face, already pale from the hangover, seemed to lose even what little colour it had left. It was, as he feared, a picture of himself and Ryan laying in bed. Only, unlike when he woke up, Ryan was pressed up against Troy, sleeping with his head on Troy's shoulder and his arm on Troy's waist, holding him.

"The two of you look so cute together," Jason put his two cents in. "I wish you would've told us sooner, we would've been shopping for curtains for the two of you."

"Shut the fuck up, dude," Troy said, angrily. "I'm not a fuckin' fag. And I'm certainly not with Ryan."

"If you say so," said Chad, shrugging. Then he got an evil look on his face. "I guess we know why Gabi broke up with you, though."

With that, Troy lunged at Chad. Zeke and Jason had to hold him back. "Let me go, I'm gonna beat his face in!" Troy shouted, struggling with his two friends. Troy was still hurting about Gabriella, and Chad had hit him in his most vulnerable spot.

"Dude, I was just fuckin' with ya," Chad said. "I didn't mean any harm by it."

"Well, you picked the wrong topic to mess with," Troy said, heatedly. Reluctantly, he stopped struggling.

"Yeah, that was outta line," Zeke said, shaking his head. Jason agreed with him.

"You're right, guys," Chad said, looking apologetic. "Sorry, bud. I know you're still raw about that."

"What are you going to do about that picture?" Troy asked, apprehensively. "You know what everybody at school would say about it, and it's completely wrong. You'd just be stirring shit up."

"That's why we're not spreading it around," Chad reassured Troy. "We just wanted to have a little fun this morning; I didn't mean to cross the line."

"Good," Troy grunted. He was suddenly sick of this place, of this situation. "Can one of you run me home? I don't feel like being here any more."

"I was about to head out myself," Jason Cross said, smiling. "I've got some lawn work to do for my dad today, and I just want to get it over with."

"Great," Troy said, managing one of the first smiles he'd had that morning. "Let me see if I can find the rest of my clothes, and I'll be ready to go."

"Bet they're probably crumpled up at the foot of Ryan's bed," Chad said, grinning.

"Chad! Knock it off!" Troy exclaimed. "It's not funny."

"Dude, if you just slept there last night, they'd still probably be on the floor by the bed," Zeke said reasonably.

Troy didn't respond to that, but instead headed back to Ryan's bedroom. The blonde was still fast asleep, but Troy cast him nary a look as he looked around for his clothes. He found his shirt and socks neatly folded on a desk chair, and his keys, wallet, and cellphone were sitting on top. His shoes had been neatly placed at the foot of the chair. Ryan's work, no doubt; Troy was never this organized, even in his own room.

Troy quickly pulled on his shirt and socks and stuffed the rest of the items in his pockets. He was putting on his shoes when he could hear a noise from the bed- Ryan was waking up.

"You're already awake?" Ryan asked, the fatigue evident in his voice. "How do you feel this morning? Are you all right?"

"Fine," Troy said, noncommittally, not looking over at his friend. "I've got the hangover from hell, but I'll live. Jason's gonna drop me off at home."

"Already?" Troy could hear disappointment in Ryan's voice. "Last night, you said you were going to…"

"Yeah, I gotta go right now," Troy said, cutting Ryan off. His shoes finally on, Troy headed towards the bedroom door. He wasn't sure whether or not to tell Ryan about the picture or not, but decided not to. It would probably cause Ryan to explain what the hell had gone on last night, and Troy wasn't even sure he wanted to know. "See you later, Ryan."

"So, you got fuckin' wasted last night," Jason said as he and Troy drove away from the Evans Estate. They were in Jason's F-150; on this bright Saturday morning, everybody seemed to be out and about. Traffic wasn't too heavy, but wasn't negligible, either.

"I know," Troy said, groaning. "I feel like just being put out of my misery."

"So, what was going on between you and Ryan?" Jason asked, signalling as he made a right turn.

"I thought you were gonna leave that alone," Troy growled.

"Wasn't actually talking about that, Bolton," Jason said, shaking his head. "I'm talking about last night. He was acting like the two of you were like best friends, or something. And he was watching you like a hawk when you were doing all of that drinking. At some point, I think he actually convinced Chad to switch you to water when he thought you'd had enough. And even though I wasn't there at the time, I'm pretty sure he and some of the guys carried you after you passed out. That's when Zeke and I went looking for you. We found you and Ryan like you were in the picture, and Sharpay was more than happy to lend us her digital camera." Jason actually giggled. "I think Sharpay was pretty drunk last night, too, because she was acting all nice and shit, and nothing like she usually does." Jason finished, shaking his head.

Troy didn't respond at all, as he struggled to incorporate all of Jason's story into his memory of the night's events. So far, nothing Jason had said was jogging any other memories. All it had done was reinforce the idea that Ryan hadn't forced himself onto Troy.

"When I was doing all this drinking, with Ryan looking on, was this earlier in the evening, or later?" Troy finally asked. "Wasn't it later in the evening? Because I don't remember drinking that heavily in the beginning." Troy had already decided not to reveal that he couldn't remember the night's events; his friends were having too much fun messing with him as it was.

"I think it was after you disappeared for a while," Jason said, after a moment's thought. "You were gone for a bit, then you came back and started doing shots with us. Ryan showed up soon afterwards."

So apparently Troy had helped the upset person in his memory. That would explain his absence. And it sounded like Ryan wasn't there either. So was he the upset person? Or was he helping out too?

"Thanks for the ride, Jason," Troy said, choosing not to think about the night any more.

"Not a problem, Troy-boy," Jason said, smiling. "I don't mind at all."

The weekend passed by way too fast for Troy's tastes. He ended up sleeping for most of Saturday, recovering from his hangover. Sunday had been spent doing chores around the house and practicing basketball with his dad. And before Troy knew it, he was driving to school in his pick-up. He was hoping to talk to Chad and Zeke and fill in the missing parts of that party. Troy hated incomplete puzzles.

As Troy pulled up into the parking lot, he saw Chad nearby, as if waiting for Troy. Troy got out of his truck and walked towards his fluffy-haired friend.

"What's up, Chad?" Troy asked, smiling.

"I didn't do it, I swear," Chad said without preamble. "It wasn't me. I said I wouldn't."

"Ok, I believe you," Troy said, wrinkling his brow in confusion. "But what didn't you do?"

Chad flushed. "Well, you remember that picture from the party?"

"The one you said you weren't gonna spread around?" Troy said, his eyes wide. "Don't tell me…"

"I think Taylor showed it to one of her Chem Club friends, just for laughs," Chad said, shaking his head. "And, well… Gabi got her hands on a copy. She's not too happy with you at the moment, bud."

"Yeah, I was a little stubborn when she broke up with me," Troy said, sardonically. "I put her out when I actually asked for reasons. I guess she just wanted me to say bye and drop it."

"Well, she spread it around the whole school, dude. Now everybody knows you spent Friday night in bed with Ryan Evans."

Troy Bolton put his hands over his face. "Fuck."

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So, there's the first chapter. This idea came to me when I was thinking about the nights I've spent partying. Though my nights never resembled Troy's, I have gotten drunk enough to forget all about the fact that I hit on a really str8 guy that I'd never be interested in sober, I hit on my friend Tracy's bf Matt, and also one of my managers from work. And all I remember are very small bits and pieces.

And tell me if you'd prefer I didn't use the very strong language I used. I can tone it down. I just know that they were the words I would've used when waking up.

Please, read and review!! Reviews help me grow as a writer and encourage me to write faster!!

Squall


	2. When They Ask, Deny, Deny, Deny!

A/N: Hey, everybody, how's it going? Big thanks to all those who reviewed my story, and thanks for all of those people who going to. A question was posed by one of my reviewers, is this going to be a Tryan story or not? Unfortunately, you must read and find out! After all, answering one way or the other would reveal whatever happens in the story. We can't have that, now can we?

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

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Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

by Squall Thrawn

Chapter 2

When They Ask, Deny, Deny, Deny!

"So, Bolton, I heard you had a fun Friday night," a guy from Troy's basketball team said as he walked past Troy.

Troy groaned. "I drank too much at the party and passed out. Chad helped me into a bed. I don't know what the fuck Evans was doing." So far, that morning, Troy, Chad, Jason, and Zeke had all been doing damage control. Troy already knew it was impossible to halt the spread of the photo, so he instead intended to diminish the impact of it. True, he was placing most of the blame on Ryan, but as Chad had pointed out, it was admittedly odd that Ryan was lying right next to him. Couldn't he have just put Troy in another bed? Besides, Ryan was a big boy. He could take care of himself.

Luckily, though, Troy's plan seemed to be working. So far, everybody had offered nothing but sympathy for Troy for being dumped by Gabi and perved on by Ryan. The fact that Troy's jeans were clearly evident in the picture was luckily insuring that nobody actually considered the possibility that Ryan had taken it any further.

Troy finally arrived in homeroom. Finding out that Ms. Darbus wasn't his homeroom teacher this year had been something that Troy had celebrated. Chad was in his homeroom, as was Jason. Taylor McKessie was here sometimes, as well, but other days she was allowed to spend her homeroom time in the chemistry lab. Best of all, Sharpay and Ryan were not here.

"I think it's working," Chad said, cheerfully. He'd been a tad worried that Troy was still going to blame him for taking the picture in the first place. "Everybody who asked me about the picture is going along with your interpretation of it."

"Good," Troy said, sighing with relief. "I feel sorta bad about dumping this all on Ryan, but what can we do?"

"Well, it was his fault he was cuddling with you," Jason said, nodding his head. "Maybe he should get most of the blame."

Troy shrugged. No matter what he or the other guys said, he still felt guilty about blaming Ryan. They were friends, after all. Troy changed tacks. "I've been meaning to ask you, Chad," Troy began. "There are still a few parts I'm a little hazy on about last Friday night. What do you remember about what I did or what Ryan did?"

"Not much, man," Chad said. "I drank almost as much as you did. I mean, you were a machine, man. Shot after shot, like clockwork. It was after you came back from upstairs. You looked a little upset about something. Or maybe you were just deep in thought. Whatever it was you were thinking about, I guess you were trying to drown it with alcohol." Chad shrugged. "I do know you let Sharpay kiss you. It wasn't that long of a kiss, though. Sharpay kinda pulled away suddenly and said something about how she guessed she was over you. She was in Zeke's lap not too long after that."

"I kissed Sharpay?" Troy asked, dumbly. Surely, he would've remembered the attractive blonde girl kissing him, right?

"You sure did," Jason said. "I remember that, now. And right after she kissed you, her brother showed up. They exchanged a few words, then that's when Sharpay started looking for Zeke."

"That's when Ryan started watching how much you were drinking," Chad said, nodding his head. "He seemed a little worried about you. So when he suggested switching your shots to water, I went along with it." Chad laughed. "You probably did about three shots of plain water, and never even realized it. You passed out around then, anyway." Chad shrugged. "Ryan suggested putting you in his room, so that he could keep an eye on you. He claimed it was to make sure you weren't in any danger of alcohol poisoning or anything. I gotta tell ya, dude," Chad said, in a serious tone, "he sounded really concerned for you, like he really cared. He said he was gonna watch over you, because that's what friends do for each other."

"And now after all he did for me that night, we're blaming him for being in the position he was in," Troy said, his guilty feelings suddenly weighing much heavier.

"Hey, none of this changes the fact that he was closer than he should've been," Chad rushed to add. "He could've stayed on his own side. It's not our fault he's so obviously gay that that's where everybody's thoughts are going to go."

"Whatever," Troy said, shaking his head. A few more pieces had been added to the puzzle, but he had also discovered a few more holes that he hadn't known were there. He and Sharpay had kissed? Zeke would probably know more about that, perhaps. It looked like the only person that knew the whole story, though, was Ryan. And that was the last person Troy wanted to talk to, at the moment.

The warning bell rang, and Troy's homeroom teacher started nattering on about some school activity that Troy couldn't care less about. It was only two months until graduation day, and Troy was counting down the weeks.

As the bell rang at the end of homeroom, Troy realized he hadn't heard a word the teacher had said. All he could think about was that Friday night. Troy got up and followed Chad out of the room, since they shared first period. Troy was barely listening to Chad talk about some random shit, and he definitely wasn't paying attention with he was slapped upside the head.

"What the…" Troy began.

"I can't believe the fuckin' nerve you have, Bolton," yelled a furious sounding female voice. Troy quickly turned around to find out whom it was, though he had a pretty good idea- it was Sharpay Evans, and she looked _pissed off_.

"I can't believe even you, of all people, would betray somebody you claimed to be friends with," Sharpay continued, her voice loud and angry. "How could you do this to Ryan? Do you have any idea what you've done to him? How much you've hurt him?"

"You've got to admit, Sharpay, it does look kinda suspicious," Chad said, hesitantly, as if afraid of bringing down the Ice Princess's wrath upon him.

"Stay out of this, Danforth," Sharpay said, sharply. She turned back to Troy. "I've spent most of my morning trying to convince everybody that it was a picture of two drunk friends passed out on a bed. I was doing fine until you and your damn basketball buddies started telling everybody that it wasn't your fault at all, and that Ryan was putting the moves on you or something." Sharpay's eyes were actually a little wet with tears; Troy never would've guessed she could actually feel emotion. "Most people already guessed he was gay, but you were the only one he actually told," Sharpay said, in a softer voice. "I can't believe you were so eager to throw him to the wolves just to save your so-called reputation."

"Mrs. Pot? Meet Mr. Kettle," Chad said, harshly. "When have _you_ cared about anything more than your _own_ reputation?"

"When I realized how much I hurt my own twin this last summer," Sharpay said, sadness in her tone. "Ryan's more important to me than anything. Even my reputation." Then she straightened up. "So, tell me, Troy. Is this how you treat all your close friends? Use their secrets against them just to bolster your own reputation?"

Troy was looking puzzled. When had Ryan actually told Troy he was gay? Another missing puzzle piece, or was Troy just really slow and had missed Ryan telling him?

"You make me sick," Sharpay continued, holding her head up in a haughty way. "Don't ever talk to me, or Ryan, again. You've already caused us enough pain and suffering." With that, she slapped Troy right on the cheek. Gathering her bag, Sharpay stalked off, muttering all the while about stupid jocks.

"Man, dude," Chad said, whistling. "You do not want to get a mountain lion that mad at you. I guess we should be lucky she didn't scratch your eyes out."

Troy barely nodded, feeling even more lost than before. He hadn't meant to hurt Ryan as much as he seemed to have done. Sharpay had been fairly melodramatic about the situation, no surprise there, but Troy was fairly certain she was telling the truth. Now Troy, despite his earlier misgivings, was now determined to talk to Ryan and find out what was going on. And hopefully apologize for what he had apparently done.

Classes that day were a strained affair. Sure, everybody still seemed to be buying Troy's explanation of events, but now each time somebody mentioned the picture, Troy felt guilt instead of vindication.

Zeke hadn't been any help, either. During lunch, Troy had cornered the dark-skinned boy and asked him what he remembered from that night. The only light he could shed was about the kiss Troy had shared with Sharpay.

"Sharpay said that she wanted to give you one last kiss, to try to get over you completely," Zeke had said, shrugging. "I guess she still had some feelings for you, after all that time she was pursuing you."

"Did it… did it work?" Troy asked, a little worried. He'd never been interested in Sharpay in that way; her attitude was a major turn-off for him.

Zeke had just chuckled. "She said it actually felt weird kissing you. She said that it actually felt like you'd already been claimed." Zeke shook his head. "She was really drunk that night, to think something like that. I mean, you're a free agent now, bud! You've got the pick of the school, pretty much. She just said she didn't feel right kissing you. I guess that's good for the both of us, eh? Now I don't have to be jealous of you stealing her away from me." Zeke's smile had faded as he said those words. Truth be told, he had been jealous of Troy and how he seemed to be the center of Sharpay's attention for so long.

Troy had merely waved Zeke away. "She's yours, man. I don't think she even wants to speak to me anymore."

Sharpay had been true to her word. Though he and the blonde girl shared two classes together, she acted as if he didn't even exist. And as for her twin? Troy shared but one class with Ryan and that was the last period of the day, A.P. European History. Troy arrived at his classroom much earlier than normal, hoping to catch Ryan alone. The Drama King wasn't there, unfortunately, and as Troy watched the door, more of his classmates poured in. Taylor McKessie was in this class, and as she saw Troy, she attempted to smile at him. He gave her a half-hearted wave in return. She may not have meant to spread the picture around, as she had claimed earlier that day, but it was still hard not to blame her just a little for the day's events.

When Kelsi Nielsen showed up, Troy's smile for her was far more sincere. Kelsi had not been able to attend the party, due to a meeting she had had with some college people about her composing. Troy didn't know the exact details of it, but he knew it was a big deal for her.

"Hi, Troy," Kelsi said, her voice soft. "I heard about what happened at the party. I wish I'd been there; maybe things wouldn't have gotten as out of hand as they sounded." Kelsi then gave Troy a piercing stare. "I also heard what you did to Ryan. I can't say I like what I've heard. Sharpay's already written you off, and she wants me to do the same."

Troy's mouth dropped open. He never would've guessed that little Kelsi was actually talking about severing ties with him.

"I believe in giving people a second chance, though," Kelsi said, continuing. "You need to fix what you did, and you need to make it up to Ryan. You know what a good guy he is, and he didn't deserve what you did to him." Kelsi shook her head. "He's going through a lot, right now."

"I'll do what I can," Troy promised, sincerely. "I do feel bad for what I said, and I certainly didn't mean to hurt him as much as I did."

Kelsi began to open her mouth as if to respond, but the warning bell cut straight through their discussion.

"Everybody take your seats," said Troy's history teacher. "We have a lot of material to cover, and where is Mr. Evans?" Troy quickly looked around. Ryan Evans was indeed nowhere to be found. It was then that the door opened, and a red-faced and winded Ryan Evans came into the room.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Ryan mumbled as he walked across the room to his seat, his eyes peeled to the floor. He looked up but once as he approached the teacher and Troy could immediately tell that Ryan had been crying. His eyes were puffed up and red-rimmed, and he looked like he was only a hair's breadth from starting again. Needless to say, Ryan didn't make any eye contact whatsoever with Troy. Also, Troy was amazed to see, Ryan wasn't wearing a hat, an article of clothing that Troy had seldom seen Ryan without.

"Well, now that we're all finally here, we can begin class," said the teacher, his voice tinged with sarcasm.

It was official. This day was a washout for Troy. He had been at school for the entire day, and he couldn't honestly come up with one thing he'd actually learned. His history teacher's lecture had fallen on deaf ears, while Troy's math teacher might as well have been teaching integrals to a brick wall. The entire time the teacher had been lecturing about the Franco-Prussian War, Troy had been trying to get Ryan's attention, or at least make eye contact with the boy. No luck; Ryan kept his eyes on his desk, dutifully jotting down notes from the lecture.

When the last bell rang, Troy exalted as he realized he finally had a chance to talk to Ryan. The male Evans, however, seemed to have been anticipating this, as the bell had scarcely rang when Ryan had thrown his notebook and pen into his messenger bag and quickly hurried out of the classroom. Troy, speeding up himself, emerged in the hallway soon afterwards, but lost Ryan in the crowd of kids eager to be out of school.

Troy despaired, but decided to take a chance and head towards Ryan's locker. Perhaps he could catch the blonde boy there, before he left. There was no sign of Ryan Evans there, but there was a sign of sorts. Ryan had always had a locker right next to Sharpay's, a garish pink locker that Troy knew contained a mirror and a few shirts in case Sharpay wanted to change. Ryan's was usually as nondescript as anybody else's was, but now it matched Sharpay's- In bright pink paint somebody had written the word 'Fagget' on Ryan's locker.

"Fuckin' homophobes can't even spell," Troy muttered to himself. It was obvious that Ryan probably wasn't going to be found anywhere near his defaced locker, so Troy decided to look for Ryan in one last place before giving it up as a bad job.

His second try hit pay dirt, however, when as Troy walked into the auditorium he saw Ryan sitting on the edge of the stage, looking defeated and lost. As Troy approached him he could see one of Ryan's hats sitting next to him, but it appeared to have a large ink stain on it.

"Kelsi, please leave me alone, I just don't want to talk right now," Ryan said suddenly, evidently realizing he was no longer alone. "I just…" It was at that point that he looked up and saw Troy standing there.

Troy was at once struck by the flash of emotions crossing Ryan's face. There was anger in there, of course, and hurt as well. When Ryan finally spoke again, though, his face had an expressionless mask, revealing nothing. His eyes, however, couldn't hide the fact that he had had tears in his eyes only moments ago.

"I thought my sister told you not to show your face around me again, Bolton," Ryan said, coldly, as he wiped the remnants of his tears from his eyes. "God, haven't you done enough damage already?"

Troy flushed. "I didn't mean to…"

"You didn't mean to, what?" Ryan interrupted, angrily. "Make sure that the entire school knew I was gay? Let them think I'm some filthy pervert who tried to violate you in your sleep?" Ryan's voice broke. "I thought, after what we talked about, Friday night, that we were gonna be closer friends. I mean, I told you things I never thought I would tell anybody, let alone Troy Bolton, the Playmaker himself." Ryan sniffled. "I thought I had finally found a friend who truly knew me. And then you fuckin' do this to me!!"

"I… You… I mean…," Troy didn't know what to say. It was obvious that he and Ryan had had a heartfelt conversation that night, and he felt really bad that he couldn't even remember it. At this point, though, Troy figured that telling Ryan this would only anger him further. "I'm…"

"Don't you say you're sorry," Ryan said, shaking his head. "Don't fuckin' say you're sorry. I don't want any apologies from you, Bolton. You betrayed my trust and made me the target of every homophobic asshole this school has."

"Why did they just start now?" Troy asked, a little confused. "I mean, I don't think I ever had a doubt in my mind that you were gay."

"It's one thing to be the suspected gay, and quite another to be the confirmed fag who tried to molest the star of the basketball team," Ryan said, furiously. He stood up. "I'm serious; don't talk to me again, Troy. Leave me alone, and I'll do the same to you." Ryan shook his head, and started walking away. "Some friend you turned out to be." With that, Ryan was off, leaving the auditorium with the slamming of the doors. Leaving Troy with the mismatched pieces of his jigsaw puzzle, trying desperately to find out what Ryan had told him that night, and figure out how to win his friend back.

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There's another chapter for ya! Hope you enjoyed! If so, leave me reviews!! They perk up my day, and make it more likely that I'll write sooner rather than later. After all, if you wrote a story and nobody reviewed it or said they liked it, you probably would assume nobody was interested and you'd stop writing it. Or at least slow down. Besides, I like to hear what parts you enjoyed.

Thanks again!!

Squall Thrawn


	3. A Steep Hill to Climb

A/N: So, I know I'm spoiling you guys… two days between updates? That's really not likely to continue… But though the second chapter was alright, I wasn't feeling it. It didn't feel right. So here's another chapter, that I really enjoyed writing. And I even overcame a power outage that wasted an entire night's work. And to make things worse, that night I was on fire. I can't recall the exact words I used, but the chapter was a great one, and then I lost a good portion of it. Oh well. The new stuff's good too.

Also, it's been mentioned that homophobic insults on locker doors is an overused plot device. Overused it may be, but when you're dealing with homophobes, you really can't accuse them of being bright and original. After all, they still hang onto that whole 'Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve' malarky. But I digress.

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

qpqpqpqp

Picking up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 3 - A Steep Hill to Climb

_It was much quieter upstairs in Ryan's bedroom. Troy and Ryan could barely hear the music blaring out of the stereo and the sounds of people talking. Not that the two of them were listening to those noises. They were sitting on Ryan's king-sized bed, and Ryan was sniffling, trying to stop the tears from falling._

_"I'm sorry for ruining the party for you, Troy," Ryan said, sighing. "I'm sure you'd rather be downstairs drinking with your mates instead of listening to a queer crying about his ex-boyfriend."_

_"Hey, Ryan, don't say that," Troy chided him. "You're my friend now, just as much as Chad and Zeke are, and if you're going through a rough time, I want to help." Troy smiled at the blonde boy. "I feel flattered that you thought enough of me to actually come out to me."_

_"Like you said, you're my friend, Troy," Ryan said. He hesitated for a second. "I never thought I'd tell anybody at East High my secret, but I trust you. It just gets to be too much, sometimes, bottling it all up inside." Ryan sighed. "Sharpay cares about me, but I honestly don't see how much help she could be. She didn't even know for certain that I was dating this guy; I told her we were just friends. She didn't like him, either. No matter who I'm with, I know Shar'll disapprove." Ryan gently laid his hand on Troy's arm. "I'm glad I've finally found somebody who won't judge or reject me."_

_"Not a problem, Ryan," Troy said, warmly. "So, tell me about this ex of yours. What did he do?"_

_Ryan managed a half-smile. "Don't worry about it, Troy. Just knowing I have a friend like you is enough. You've got enough to deal with, what with your breakup with Gabriella and all."_

_"Hey, that's the reason why I'm asking," Troy said, smiling slightly. "I know how much it hurt when Gabi broke up with me without even giving me a good reason; you just lost your boyfriend who used an even shittier reason. I understand where you're coming from, and I'd be glad to listen to you."_

_Ryan looked touched at Troy's pronouncement. "Thanks, Troy," he managed, looking like he was going to tear up, yet again. "I appreciate it. And to tell you the truth, I still can't believe that you'd be this comfortable with the subject."_

_"Hey, you may have just told me you were gay, but that doesn't mean I didn't have a good idea anyway," Troy said, shrugging. "I've had some time to get comfortable with it. I just figured you'd tell me when you were ready."_

_"It's just… right now, people think they know about me, but they don't know for sure. So the football studs that would probably beat me up if it ever came out I was gay leave me alone, for now." Ryan sighed. "That's what I'm so afraid of- everybody at East High finding out about me."_

_"They won't find out from me," Troy promised. "And if you ever need rescuing from the football squad, I've got your back."_

_"I can take care of myself, Troy," Ryan said, sharply. "I don't need a knight in shining armor to swoop in and fight my battles for me."_

_"You shouldn't have to do it all alone, though," Troy said, gently. "That's what friends are for."_

_"And are we friends?" Ryan asked, a note of insecurity in his voice. "I know we haven't always gotten along, and before this year I would've sworn you hated me."_

_"I never hated you, Ryan," Troy responded immediately. "I just never really got to know you. Now that I have, I'm glad to call you my friend, and I'll do so right in front of those football goons."_

_"But if you do that, they'll think you're gay, too," Chad said, as he walked into the room. He was wearing his Wildcats basketball jersey and shorts and was carrying a basketball. "You got dumped by Gabi, and the school's still curious as to the reason. They'll jump at the idea that you and Evans are together." Chad shrugged, and then started spinning the basketball on his finger._

_"That's what I'd tell them if I heard anything like that," Gabriella said, as she was suddenly in the room as well. "Anything to distract them from the real reason. I don't want to look like the bad guy if the school found out, so I'd definitely push the idea that you and Ryan are together."_

_"I know the two of you are just friends," Sharpay added in. Sharpay was wearing the same vibrant blue dress that she had worn when she and her twin had performed "Bop to the Top" for their callback last year. "But you're just going to hurt Ryan, all the same. You, Bolton, are poison. You make me sick."_

_"We're so proud of you, son," said Coach Bolton, pride evident in his voice. At this point, Ryan's bedroom was now somehow crowded with people from Troy's life, even though he wasn't entirely sure how they got there. "Your mother and I know that you'll do the right thing, in the end."_

_"Dude, a friendship with Ryan is definitely not a good idea for you," Chad said as he re-entered the conversation. "He's gonna try to put the moves on you. And would you abandon your friends and family for him? We know that when it comes down to it, you're gonna choose us, you best friends, over a fag you barely know."_

_"Ryan is a good guy," Kelsi replied. "He's exactly the sort of friend you wish you could have. You need to apologize, Troy." Kelsi sighed. "You fucked things up, but it's not too late. Show Ryan that he wasn't mistaken in wanting to be friends with you."_

_"Just ignore him, Troy, he's just going to get you into trouble," Jason countered._

_"Timeliness means something in the world of theater, young man," Ms. Darbus declared. "You must not delay in fixing what you broke. Or else the spring musicale will be a closed door to you."_

_"Come on, Troy, it's time for the game," Zeke said, urgency in his voice. "If we're not there on time, we won't get to compete in the bake-off."_

_"I… I need to go," Troy stammered, looking at Ryan. He suddenly found himself in his basketball jersey as well. "I have… practice! That's it, practice!"_

_"Come on, Troy, skip practice for me," Ryan asked, in a pleading tone. "I'll teach you how to do a jazz square!! Everybody loves a good jazz square!" As Ryan tugged on Troy's hand, Troy looked down and now he was in the sort of outfit that Ryan might wear- coordinated pants and shirt, and a rather stylish hat. "See how it fits you? You look great like that, Troy." Then Ryan's tone dropped until nobody but Troy could hear him. "But if you want to wear your jersey, it's fine too. I don't expect you to forget basketball just for me."_

_"You have to make your choices, and live with them, Bolton," Taylor said, clad in her lab coat and a red and white tie. "There are no do-overs in life, no reset buttons. Consider what you're about to do before you do it."_

With a start, Troy was jolted awake. He was covered in sweat, and the sun had not yet risen.

"Fuckin' dreams," Troy muttered, rolling over in bed. "At least there wasn't any pink jelly." That wasn't how his conversation had gone with Ryan… was it? Well, except for the part where everybody showed up in Ryan's room. That was probably just a product of his insecurities and the mixed messages he had been receiving over the last few days. Which was all he'd been getting. Meanwhile, since his confrontation with Ryan on Monday, the blonde had been avoiding Troy completely. As for Troy, he wasn't eager to initiate another conversation with Ryan before he had figured out how to make it up to him. Otherwise, he could very well make things worse.

Though part of Troy hoped that he was regaining his memory of that night back, another part of him almost hoped that that was not how it had gone down. If he had actually promised Ryan that he would never reveal his secret, that was something he feared he would never live down. Ryan certainly wouldn't trust him any more.

Troy rolled back over, frustrated. Why was it so important that he regain Ryan's trust in the first place? Sure, he was a friend all right, a close friend, but Troy had others. Chad, Zeke, Jason, all the other guys from the basketball team. Why was he spending so much time figuring out how to make it up to Ryan Evans, of all people? He was Sharpay's twin, for crying out loud!

'Because he understands you better than Chad or Jason do,' that traitorous little voice in the back of his head informed him. Troy thought about that. Surely Chad understood him well enough… didn't he? After all, they'd been friends since primary school, and teammates for years. They had grown up together, and had been there for all the joys and disappointments that life could throw at them.

'That's right. Chad understands you so well that when he sees you trying something new, like the singing thing, he'll go so far as to set you up and sabotage your chances with Gabriella,' that fucking annoying voice responded, snidely. Troy groaned. He had never taken a sleeping aid; constant basketball practice usually wore him out so much that he never had a problem falling asleep. Suddenly, though, Troy was feeling the need to do something to stop these rebellious thoughts. Too bad there wasn't any alcohol readily available; that would put him out, soon enough. Of course, that nagging voice had to add that alcohol the cause of all of his problems in the first place. And the reason why Troy still couldn't remember the entire night; even based on the sketchy information that his friends had given him, Troy knew there was something else, a crucial bit still missing. Namely, the reason why Troy had seen fit to drown his troubles in alcohol in the first place.

After tossing and turning for some time, Troy finally managed to fall into a restless sleep where his anxieties still plagued him.

"Kelsi, Can I talk to you?" Troy asked as he approached the short composer before homeroom. It was a bright and cheery Friday morning; Troy had cursed after one look at the sky.

"What do you want, Troy?" Kelsi asked, not unsympathetically. She was still rather disappointed by Troy's actions involving the picture, but they were still friends. Besides, Troy looked terrible. He looked exhausted, dark rings around his eyes. "You look like you haven't gotten any sleep, Troy."

"I haven't," Troy confessed, rubbing his eyes. "This Ryan situation… I don't know what to do, Kelsi. I hurt him, and betrayed his trust. I don't know how I could ever make it up to him, and I'm not even sure he wants me to."

"Honestly, Troy, I don't know what to tell you," Kelsi said, shaking her head. "Ryan barely talks to me anymore; he barely talks to anyone. Except Sharpay, of course. Who I would recommend you steer clear of."

"Oh, I plan to," Troy said, nodding his head fervently. "But she's the gatekeeper, in a way. Anything I do for Ryan, she'll involve herself in it."

"So that's it, you're just gonna give up because you're afraid of pissing off Sharpay?" Kelsi asked, derision in her voice.

"No!" Troy exclaimed, a little louder than he meant to. A few of his fellow students looked over at him, and Troy lowered his voice. "I'm gonna try my best. I can't just leave it here; even if after everything I do he still hates me, I'll at least have tried."

Kelsi gave Troy a sympathetic look. "I'll see what I can find out," she said, finally. "I'll try to talk to Ryan, at least. At this point, that's all I can do."

"Thanks, Kelsi," Troy said, gratefully. "I'll see you in class?"

"Yeah, I'll see you later, Troy," Kelsi said, walking off.

Troy sighed, and began heading towards his homeroom class. Hopefully Kelsi could come up with something useful for him. So intent on the Ryan situation, Troy wasn't paying much attention, and as he turned the corner he ran into a fellow classmate.

"Sorry about that," Troy said, apologizing. Then he looked up at who he had run into.

"It's ok, Troy," Taylor McKessie said, in a tense voice. "So, um… how have you been?"

Troy shrugged. "That picture really fucked things up for me. Not to mention Ryan." He looked pointedly at Taylor. "I don't really want to talk about it. At all."

"Oh, that's fine, Troy, I don't mind," Taylor replied, almost thankfully. Makes sense that she wouldn't want to dwell on the subject, Troy thought.

"Hey, wait up, Taylor!" called out a female voice from behind her. Troy looked for the source of the outburst and found himself face to face with Gabriella- since the breakup, the two had been consciously making an effort to avoid each other.

"So, I totally forgot my Chem book in my locker," Taylor quickly said, glancing from Troy to Gabriella. "I'm gonna go get that."

"Isn't that your Chem book right there?" Troy pointed to the book Taylor was holding in her hand.

"Oh, this is… the wrong one… I can't believe I grabbed this one…," Taylor said, backing off. "See ya, Troy!" With that, Taylor was gone.

"So… how's it going?" Gabriella asked, finally.

"Do you hate me that much?" Troy blurted out. That wasn't what he meant to say, but he couldn't contain himself. "You fuckin' break up with me without even giving me a decent reason, and then you spread that innocent picture of Ryan and myself around. What's your fuckin' deal, Gabi?"

"It sure didn't look like an innocent picture to me," Gabriella retorted, choosing to ignore the rest of Troy's comments. "It looked like you and Ryan were quite cozy, there."

"It's a diversion, isn't it?" Troy guessed. Could his dream have hit the nail on the head? "You don't have a good answer about our breakup, so now you're trying to hide the truth by messing with me and Ryan."

Gabriella didn't respond at all, but her reactions spoke for her- Troy had definitely struck a nerve.

"You know, for the longest time, I was obsessing over the reason," Troy said, musingly. "Trying to figure out where I went wrong in our relationship. And from what it sounds like, the only mistake I made was staying with a bitch like you."

Gabriella angrily slapped Troy, coincidentally on the same cheek that Sharpay had slapped. "You… you make me sick, Troy Bolton," Gabriella hissed. "Why don't you just steer clear of me." With that, she turned around with a dramatic flourish and walked away.

"She's a real piece of work," Chad said from behind Troy.

"Yeah, I'll say," Troy found himself responding. It still hurt, even after the things she had done and said. "At least she doesn't hit as hard as Sharpay; I swear that girl almost knocked a tooth out." Troy shook his head. "I still don't understand what happened to her. She was so sweet when we first met, and even after what happened this summer. She's always been strong-willed, but she never acted like this. Then she started acting strangely about two months ago, and then she just broke up with me." Troy snorted. "Irreconcilable differences? That doesn't really help; it just sounds like a legal word used for divorces. But it's the only reason she gave me, really."

"You can do so much better than her," said Chad, ever the dutiful best friend. "You know, that one pretty brunette cheerleader has been eyeing you since you and Gabi broke up."

"Thanks, Chad," Troy responded, politely. His breakup with Gabi still left a sour taste in his mouth, and at the moment, he was expending most of his emotional energy on Ryan Evans. At this point, he honestly didn't have any time for a girlfriend. "I'll think about it. Let's get to homeroom, though. We don't want to be late or anything."

"Lead the way, dude," Chad said, waving his hand. The two walked towards the nearby classroom, but were distracted by a loud thumping. "What the fuck is that, dude?" Chad asked. "Sounds like it's coming from that broom closet."

"You mean that broom closet with the chair underneath the doorknob, keeping it closed?" Troy said, pointing. "Looks like the jocks didn't like somebody…" Troy trailed off as he suddenly had a suspicion as to who was behind the broom closet door.

Immediately galvanized into action,Troy picked the chair up and tossed it aside with much more force than was necessary. Yanking the door open, Troy was greeted by the sight of a dishevelled and flushed Ryan Evans.

Ryan looked grateful for a second, until he recognized his rescuer. "Bolton," was his only response.

"Hey, Ryan," Troy said, feeling really awkward now.

"I guess I should be thanking you," Ryan said in a neutral tone. Then he scowled. "But then again, I don't think I would've been in this dank room in the first place if not for you either."

"Sorry for taking the picture, Evans, I didn't mean anything by it," Chad blurted out, hanging his head.

"Save it, Danforth," Ryan said, picking his messenger bag up from the floor. "I'm leaving for homeroom; I don't want to be late." Without another word, Ryan brushed past the two jocks and walked briskly down the hall.

"Man, he seems pissed," was all Chad could say. "We rescued him from the janitor's closet, and that's the thanks we get?"

"He had a point, Chad," Troy sighed. "He wasn't out of line at all. I was out of line when I thought only about myself and didn't think about how badly this would hurt Ryan." Troy felt like he was walking up a steep hill, with no end in sight. Would Ryan ever forgive him? Troy wasn't even sure he could ever forgive himself.

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A/N: So, another chapter down! Hope you enjoyed it! It was a lot of fun writing that dream sequence; those tend to show up at least once a story for me.

Oh, and when you're reviewing, does anybody know the name of the really tall basketball player from the first HSM? Real name, character name, either first or last… He was in the scene when the guys found out that callbacks were being moved, and he was in the background for most of the movie. Oh, and for Stick to the Status Quo he was wearing too much eye makeup and kept looking directly into the camera. Does anybody know?

Plz read and review!! I spent time and effort to writing and then reconstructing his chapter, and I'm really curious if you liked it as well…

Squall Thrawn


	4. Bright Red Blood and Blonde Hair

A/N: So, I've found an update pattern that works better… Every Tuesday, until the story is finished. Barring unforeseen circumstances, of course. The next chapter is already mostly written out in my mind, anyway, since a good portion of it was set aside for this chapter. Then I changed things a little, and they'll work out better for chapter 5. Though, sounding like a broken record, reviews might speed me up. So sue me; I'm a review whore.

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

qpqpqpqp

Picking up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 4 - Bright Red Blood and Blonde Hair

Sweat poured down Troy's shirtless back as he ran down the court in his backyard, watching the basketball and his team mate the entire time. It was a breezy Saturday, but the sun shone just as brightly as it had the day before. As Jason tried to block him, Chad quickly passed the ball to Troy, who immediately tried to shoot it. It went over the searching hands of Zeke, and went through the hoop.

"That's right, guys, that's twenty," Chad shouted, crowing in delight. He was also missing his shirt, and was just as sweaty as Troy.

"Now you get to buy us lunch," Troy said, smugly. Jason and Zeke groaned.

"Why do you and Chad always have to play on the same team?" Jason asked, whinging. "You two were the best two players on our school team; it seems so unfair."

"We don't always play on the same team," Chad replied, shrugging. "It was you that said today that you and Zeke could take us, and that the losers have to pick up the lunch tab."

"I know, I know," Jason sighed. "How does Taco Bell sound?"

"Oh, trying to be a cheapskate, huh?" Troy said, teasingly. "I was gonna ask for lobster or something, since you're paying." Zeke shot him a death glare, and then glared at Jason just for good measure. "Taco Bell's fine. Let's meet there at noon. I know I want to shower up beforehand." The other three boys agreed to noon, and Zeke and Jason left for their homes while Chad followed Troy inside.

"Good game, bud," Chad said, slapping Troy's shoulder. "Thought you just needed a good game to get your mind offa things. You've been distracted all week."

"Can you blame me for being distracted?" Troy responded. "I acted stupidly, and now I lost a good friend."

Chad shrugged. "I don't see what's the big deal about losing Evans as a friend, anyway. I mean, he could be pretty cool at times, and he had a wicked sense of humour. But look at what he was doing to you in your sleep, dude. How is that being a good friend?"

Troy opened his mouth to angrily respond, but then thought better of it. How could he make Chad understand where he was coming from, when he wasn't even sure? What could he possibly say to Chad that would explain any of it?

'Thought you said that Chad understood you,' that snide little voice decided to chime in. Troy affected to ignore it.

"It's just… complicated, Chad," Troy finally said, sticking with his decision not to explain. "Maybe he fucked up, maybe I fucked up, maybe we both fucked up. I don't know; I just feel like I should make it up to him, somehow."

"Dude, you know I've got your back, right?" Chad said, in a serious tone. Troy nodded. "Well, I think you should let the Ryan thing go, for now. People still aren't sure about that picture, and if you start trying to hang around Evans, they're gonna start thinking that you and he really are together, or at least were." Chad shook his head. "I've been hearing some things, too. If I were you, I'll steer well clear of Evans- it might not be safe."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Troy asked, a little alarmed.

"Just… watch your back, Troy, and leave Evans be," Chad said. "Like I said, he's a nice guy, but he's not worth it to get either of us too involved."

Troy sighed. "I'll have to think about it," he said, finally, not looking directly at his best friend. "I can't make any promises, though. Listen, dude, I'm gonna take a shower now, and then maybe take a nap."

"Dude! What about the free lunch!" Chad exclaimed. "We won that, fair and square!"

"You go ahead, Chad," Troy waved him off. "I'm not that hungry anymore."

"Is it because of what I said?" Chad asked, incredulously.

"See you later, dude," was all Troy said, as he headed upstairs to shower. He could hear Chad grunting out a farewell, but Troy was already thinking of other matters. Unless he misunderstood Chad, Ryan was in imminent danger.

"But he doesn't want my help," Troy said to himself, washing in the shower. "I tried to help him yesterday, and he completely blew me off. But didn't I deserve that? If I don't do anything to save him from whatever happens, won't I be just as responsible for that?" Troy growled. Damn conscience and morals kept getting in the way.

On Monday morning, Troy pulled into the student parking lot, twenty minutes late for school. After getting a pass from the office for being tardy, Troy quickly made his way to his locker. Homeroom was almost over, but Troy could still make it to his first period class on time.

When the bell rang, Troy was still at his locker, waiting on Chad.

"What's up, Captain?" Chad exclaimed cheerfully. Jason Cross was with him. "Looks like somebody was late for school today!"

"I couldn't sleep," Troy responded, as usual. Though he felt like a broken record for using that excuse all of last week and now this week, in truth the events of the party were still taking their toll on him. And after Chad's comments on Saturday, it had only weighed on Troy further. Therefore, when Troy had finally fallen asleep that Sunday night, it was well after three in the morning. He hadn't even noticed his six a.m. alarm. Until his mother had finally come upstairs to see why it was taking him so long to get ready.

"You didn't miss much in homeroom, though," Jason said, shrugging. "Same old shit, you know."

"Oh, well," Troy said, his mind elsewhere. "Hey, you guys haven't seen Evans anywhere, have you?"

"Which one?" Jason asked. "The Ice Princess, I saw earlier, yelling at Zeke again. Guess he tried to make things up to her with baked goods." Jason smiled. "I don't think it worked, though, judging by the mess they made after she threw them at Zeke."

"Why are they fighting?" Troy asked. He hadn't been paying much attention to anything like that the past week.

"Zeke helped us with that photo problem," Chad reminded Troy. "In Sharpay's books, he's almost as big a traitor as you are."

"I haven't seen Ryan so far, though," Jason added. "I think he's trying to avoid the football jocks."

Chad looked worriedly at Troy. "Dude, I told you about this, Saturday. You don't want to mess with these guys, they mean business."

"Whatever," Troy said. "We'll see what happens." Troy shrugged. "You never know, it could just be some stupid rumour that got started by those jocks."

Chad and Jason looked worriedly at each other, but Troy ignored their glances. "Hey, Chad, why don't you go ahead and wait for me in class," Troy suddenly said, catching a glimpse of Kelsi. "I need to talk to Kelsi for a moment."

"Alright, see you later, Troy," Chad replied, giving his best friend another worried look before walking away with Jason.

"Kelsi," Troy said, quickly walking up to his friend.

"Good morning, Troy," Kelsi said, looking at him inquisitively. "I'm gonna be late for class; did you need something?"

"It's about Ryan again," Troy said, definitely feeling like a broken record.

"I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet, Troy," Kelsi said, a touch of impatience in her voice. "These things take a little time."

"That's not what I meant," Troy said, blushing a little. "Actually, I was wondering if you could keep an eye on him, the best you can." Troy lowered his voice. "Chad told me that he might be in danger from the football jocks. I'd tell Principal Matsui but I don't have anything other than rumours."

Kelsi's eyes had grown wide. "I'll see what I can do," she said, concern in her voice. "Maybe the Drama Club'll help; _they,_ at least, haven't abandoned him. I suppose it's too much to ask for the basketball team to make up for what they did?" Kelsi said, an edge in her voice.

"Chad almost seems to think he may have it coming," Troy said, bitterly. "I don't think the rest of the guys think any differently."

"What about you, Troy?" Kelsi pressed. "Do you think he has it coming?"

"No." Troy's response was immediate. "I just… don't know how much help I can be," Troy said, softly. "Or if he even wants my help."

"You have to do what's right, Troy," Kelsi said, simply. "You may have fucked things up with Ryan, but it's not too late." Kelsi looked at her watch. "Sorry, Troy, but I have to get to class or I'll be late. So do you, for that matter." Matching actions to words, Kelsi was quickly heading down the hall.

"Do what's right," Troy muttered to himself, frustration in his voice, as he walked down the hallway. "Easy for her to say. All I have to lose is my friends, my reputation, and I can't forget, I might even get beat up for my troubles. And all of this for a boy that might not even want my help. Damn you, Ryan Evans." The warning bell sounded, informing Troy that he was now tardy to his first period class as well, but he didn't pick up his pace at all. At the present moment, Troy couldn't give a shit about his classes.

"So, Troy, how about a rematch on Saturday?" Zeke asked as he, Chad, Troy, and Jason were walking through the gym during free period. "Jason and I practiced all day Sunday, and we think we can take you and Chad, now."

Troy shrugged. "Sounds like fun; I haven't had Burger King in a while."

"Hey, now, buddy, don't count your chickens before they're hatched," Jason chided. "You're goin' down, Bolton."

"Yeah, we'll see about that," Chad responded. Just then, the four boys heard a distant yelp of pain.

"What was that, guys, did you hear that?" Troy said, concern in his voice.

"Probably just a weightlifter or something," Zeke said, quickly.

"Maybe he dropped a weight on his foot," Jason suggested. The boys, except for Troy, laughed at that. Just then, Troy heard another cry of pain.

"I'm going to check it out," Troy said, hurrying towards the noise. The other three boys glanced at each other before following their brown-haired friend. They skidded to a halt when they saw that Troy had stopped dead in his tracks at the entrance to the showers.

Four huge seniors from the East High Wildcats football team were standing in a semi-circle, laughing as they looked down at a crumpled form in front of them. Troy's heart leapt to his throat as he saw the bright-coloured newsboy hat lying off to the side, as if discarded.

"What the fuck is going on, here?" Troy asked, his voice surprisingly loud, confident. Internally, however, he was scared. Not so much for himself but for whom he suspected was the victim.

The jocks turned his way, as if surprised to be interrupted. "It's nothing to worry about, Bolton," one of them said. "We're just ridding the school of filth like this one." As he gestured, he moved enough to give Troy a glimpse of bright red blood and sandy-blonde hair.

Troy started towards the group, but was held back by Chad. "Dude, I told you, don't get involved," Chad said, urgently. "How could you take those four by yourself? Evans is fucked, either way; at least you can avoid the same fate." Troy bit his lip in indecision. The jocks, in the meantime, had pushed Troy out of their minds and one of them kicked Ryan in the stomach. Troy winced as Ryan cried out again.

"Troy, if you save him now, everybody's going to think that photo is the truth," Zeke said, worry in his voice. "You don't want the school to think you're gay, do you? Think about what you dad would say."

"Yeah, Troy, just leave the fag alone," Jason added. "He's not worth all of that."

That simple comment was more than enough for Troy to make a decision. "His name is Ryan, not 'the fag'," Troy responded, the anger plain in his voice. "And I will not just leave him here." He angrily pushed Chad away from him. "Back me up or not, guys, but I'm not leaving. Ryan is my friend, and I'm going to stand up for him. If you still claim to be my friends, will you do the same for me?" Without bothering to see if they were going to back him up, Troy walked forward towards the jocks, who were about to resume their pummelling of Ryan.

"Leave him alone, guys," Troy said, reaching them. The one jock who even listened to him, gave him a quizzical look.

"You're outnumbered, Bolton," he said, gesturing towards the door. Troy saw that Chad and Zeke were standing there, still unsure of whether or not they were going to help, but Jason was gone.

"Jason's going to find my father. You know, Coach Bolton?" Troy said, trying to still sound firm and strong while his legs threatened to buckle.

"You fuckin' tattletale," the football player spat, but he stopped his football buddies from hitting Ryan again. "He's a dirty fuckin' queer; that picture proved it." Then an unpleasant sneer crossed his face. "That picture had you in it too, Bolton. So you're a fag too?"

"I'm completely straight," Troy said. Even if he'd had any feelings for Ryan, which he of course did not, he wouldn't have mentioned it to these goons. "And Ryan is a nice guy. I can't stand by and let you do this."

"Dude," another football player muttered to his friend, the one Troy was talking to. "If his father _is_ on the way, we need to book it before they find us here with the fag. We can get to him later, when his boyfriend isn't here to protect him."

"Fine," growled the first jock. "You'd better watch your back, though, Bolton. Don't think we're going to forget this." The four jocks slowly walked out of the shower room, pushing Chad and Zeke out of the way as they did so.

"Troy, I-," Chad started to say.

"I don't want to hear it, right now, Chad," Troy said tiredly, his heart finally coming back down from his throat. "Why don't you two just get out of here and go to class. I'm guessing that's what Jason did?" The guilty looks on their faces were answer enough. "I suppose we're lucky he bailed on us- gave me something to bluff those guys into leaving." Troy made his way over to where Ryan was laying prone on the tile floor of the showers. "See you later guys," was tossed over his shoulder, as he didn't even look up.

Troy heard rather then saw them leave; his eyes were only for Ryan. Unsure of whether he should call for medical attention and risk bringing the police into it or just take care of the blonde himself, Troy found himself placing Ryan's head gently on his lap. He had a spare white shirt in his book bag for gym class; taking it out, Troy used it to mop up the blood on Ryan's face. Feeling the sensation on his face, Ryan stirred.

"What's going on?" Ryan managed to get out, before spitting up some blood. "Are they gone?"

"Yeah, I got rid of them," Troy said, gently brushing the loose strands of hair from Ryan's face. It was about then that Ryan opened his eyes and recognized his rescuer.

"Bolton," Ryan said, his manner once again changing, just like it had when Troy had opened the janitor's closet for him. "I told you I didn't want a fuckin' knight in shining armour; but then, I also said I didn't want East High to find out about me. I guess you make a practice out of ignoring what I say, huh?" Ryan attempted to sit up. "Just leave me alone… Bolton. I'll be fine."

It was at that point that Troy lost his temper. He knew he'd hurt Ryan, but did Ryan have any idea how much grief, how much time and energy Troy was investing to fix things? He tried so hard, and Ryan wasn't treating him any differently? "Listen, _Evans_," Troy emphasized the boy's last name, since Ryan kept using his. "I didn't do all of this just to apologize to you. Hell, no! Especially since I'm sure you're still not going to forgive me." Troy sighed. "I stood up to those jocks, rejected my friends' advice not to get involved, simply because it was the right thing to do. I hope that even if we'd never met, and this was happening, I would've had the courage to stand up for you, anyway." Troy paused, before continuing. "I'm not sure if I would've, but I hope. But there's no way that after knowing you, and knowing you well, I could've slept at night if I'd left you to the dubious mercies of those goons."

Ryan was silent as he regarded Troy for a moment; Troy could feel those blue eyes of his watching Troy, judging him. Then the moment was broken. Ryan looked down at his clothes, looking to see how badly they'd been damaged. It wasn't exactly the reaction Troy had been looking for, but at least Ryan wasn't rushing to get away from him, either.

"I'm leaving now," Ryan finally said, breaking the awkward silence. "I'm… gonna go home. I don't think I can be here today."

"Do you… do you need somebody to drive you home?" Troy said, hesitantly.

"No!" Ryan replied immediately. And then, in a softer voice, "I'll be fine to drive; you don't have to worry."

Troy cast a critical eye over Ryan, but said nothing. He strongly disagreed with Ryan's decision, but knew better than to argue. Instead, Troy stood up and held out a wavering hand towards Ryan. Ryan hesitated, and then took it, using it to stand up. Troy could tell that the blonde's legs were a little shaky, but once again left it alone. He bent down and picked up Ryan's abandoned newsboy cap. He was going to hand it to the boy, but acting on pure impulse gently placed it on his head, instead. Ryan watched him with unreadable eyes.

"Please go to class," Ryan finally said, his voice still soft. "I don't want you around me, hovering."

Troy merely nodded, his mind overwhelmed with thoughts. "Take care of yourself, Ryan," was all he said. He made his way to the door.

"Troy?" Troy immediately turned around, slightly surprised at Ryan's renewed use of his first name. "I… Thanks, Troy."

"You're welcome, Ryan." Troy smiled gently. "I would also say 'any time,' but I hope that this doesn't ever happen again."

"Hope is the denial of reality," was Ryan's only response. "We both know better, Troy." With no response to that, Troy took that as his cue to leave. Ryan was right, though. Troy could hope all he wanted, but those football guys had already swore to pick up where they left off, and now Troy was on their list. Troy could only hope that Chad would actually stand his ground if it was Troy on the chopping block. And try to forget Ryan's rather brutal assessment on hope. After all, hope was all he had, at this point.

qpqpqpqp

So, I may not have found out the actor's real name at all, but the really tall basketball player that I asked about last chapter? His character's last name is Garza. I spent some time watching the basketball parts in slow-motion, hoping to catch sight of his jersey. You'd be surprised how often they almost show it, then either cut away or somebody gets in front of him. Then, just watching the movie normally, there it was towards the end, plain as day. That's one less thing to wonder about, anyway.

Plz read and review!! Reading reviews makes me happy!!

Squall Thrawn


	5. Am I Getting Somewhere With This?

A/N: So, two days sooner than Tuesday. Like I'd said, reviews speed me up. I got more reviews for last chapter than for any other chapter, and I love to hear that people like the story! I was actually going to add this on Friday, since I figured I'd have it done by then. I didn't, and then I got really drunk on Friday nite playing Circle of Death. After that, I could barely focus on the screen altogether, let alone actually write something. Umm… then when I was spelling checking it tonight, the program crashed and I lost the last two pages. Oh well. The next chapter is tentatively scheduled for a week from this chapter, but again, reviews speed me up!!

Also, I'm not sure if there was any confusion, but when Troy picked up Ryan's hat and instead of handing it to him he put it on his head, he was gently placing it on Ryan's head, not his own.

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

qpqpqpqp

Picking up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 5 - Am I Getting Somewhere With This?

"Troy!" a loud voice shouted over the noisy din of the lunchroom. At first Troy didn't respond, his mind elsewhere. He was sitting at a table, away from his basketball team. All three of his so-called friends, Chad, Zeke, and Jason, had attempted to justify themselves to Troy, who was in no mood to hear it. He was sure that, given enough time, he could overlook their actions, or rather their inactions, but at the moment, it was impossible.

"Troy Bolton!" called the voice again, this time closer. Troy looked up, startled, and spotted Kelsi rushing over to him.

"Troy, I haven't seen Ryan in a while, and I'm worried about him," Kelsi said, panic in her voice. "I couldn't mobilize the Drama Club fast enough to keep an eye on him, and now I'm hearing really bad rumours."

"He's safe now, Kelsi," Troy said, soothingly. "The jocks got a hold of him, but I managed to find him in time. He went home to take care of himself." Troy pulled out his cell phone. "He actually texted me to let me know that he'd reached home safely." A smile tugged at the corners of Troy's face. Just a simple gesture, to be sure, but Troy definitely regarded it as progress.

Kelsi let out an audible sigh of relief. "Thank God you found him, Troy," she said. "I don't know what I would've done, otherwise." Then her look became piercing. "So you stood up for him?"

Troy nodded. "There was a moment where I wasn't sure what to do," Troy confessed in a low voice. "My friends were telling me not to get involved, and those football players could've pounded my face in."

"It's what you did that matters," Kelsi replied, simply. Then a certain glint appeared in her eye, a glint Troy wasn't sure he liked. "So, are the two of you ok, now?"

Troy shrugged. "At this point, it's up to him. He's actually using my first name again, so I guess that's progress."

"Well, I'll talk to Ryan later, see if he's all right," Kelsi said. "Maybe I can find out if he's ready to forgive you yet."

"Thanks, Kelsi," Troy said, gratitude in his voice. Just then, the bell rang, indicating the end of lunch period. "I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, take it easy, Troy," replied Kelsi, giving him a smile. "And Troy? Thanks again for doing the right thing."

Troy shifted uncomfortably. He still felt partially responsible for everything. Did he deserve thanks for trying to make amends for a mistake that he'd made? In the end, Troy muttered a response that could've been interpreted as 'your welcome' and walked off.

Unfortunately, Troy had barely left the cafeteria when somebody else was calling out his name.

"Troy Bolton! Wait right there!"

"Am I ever going to get to class on time today?" Troy murmured to himself before turning around. At least, this time he already knew who it was calling his name; he knew that voice, anywhere.

"What's up, Sharpay?" Troy responded, politely, hoping she wasn't going to slap him again.

"My brother just gave me a call," Sharpay said, her tone unreadable. "I thought I told you to leave him alone, Bolton." Sharpay shook her head. Then traces of a smile appeared. "I guess I should be glad you didn't listen to me." Just as suddenly, the smile was gone. "But don't think this squares things between us; you hurt my brother, and this doesn't make up for it." Sharpay shook her finger at him angrily. "You were the one who put him in danger in the first place." Troy watched, open mouthed, as Sharpay was gone just as quickly as she had appeared, without giving him a chance to respond.

"Man, I am so glad she's not my sister," Troy said, shaking his head in disbelief. "With girls like that in his life, I'm not surprised Ryan turned to guys."

qpqp

"Can we talk?" Chad asked diffidently as he approached Troy. Classes were over, and Troy was eager to head home and ponder about what had happened. And figure out what the hell was going on between himself and Ryan Evans.

"Go ahead and talk," Troy said, not bothering to look over at his best friend of so many years as he made his way through the school corridors. "Perhaps I'll even listen and respond."

Chad frowned at the unexpected response. Nevertheless, he continued. "Listen, I don't pretend to understand what the hell is going on between you and Evans that would make you talk to those jocks that way, but-"

"My _friendship _with Ryan has little to do with what I did," Troy answered, cutting Chad off. "Standing up against injustice, however, had a lot to do with it." He finally made eye contact with Chad. "Can you honestly tell me that you didn't care whether or not Ryan got pummelled by those football jocks? Are you ok with four big guys like that ganging up on one smaller guy just because he was different?"

"You know I didn't want to see Evans beat up by those goons," Chad protested, "but you stood up to them and that almost got you beat up as well."

"Well, in a perfect world, it would've been four football jocks against four basketball players, but we don't live in a perfect world, do we?" Troy said, simply. "In a perfect world, Ryan would've been safe from people like that, for that matter." Then Troy's voice turned cutting. "Where were you, Chad? When I stepped forward to help Ryan, where were you? You've said you were my best friend, no matter what. For fuck's sake, you've actually told me that you had my back. I don't see how we can get any plainer than that. And the one time I actually needed you there backing me up, where were you?"

"Well, it was just Evans, and-" Chad tried, weakly.

"Wrong, Chad," Troy forcefully said. "When we came down to it, it was _me_ taking a stand, and asking for support, and you stayed back. You and Zeke. Don't even get me started on the fact that Cross just flat-out bailed on me." Troy sighed, exasperated. "I just… need friends who'll do what they say they'll do. I guess I know how Ryan feels," Troy added, sadly.

"What do you mean, Troy?" Chad asked, curiously.

"On Friday night, Ryan came out to me," Troy said, finally breaking his silence on the matter. "He had to have known that I already suspected it; practically everybody did. But he actually confirmed it, told me he was gay, and I told him that it was ok. That I wouldn't tell anybody at school about him." Troy smiled bitterly. "Of course, I drank so much, Friday night, that I had no memory of any of that. All I know is that I found myself in bed the next morning with Ryan Evans, and… I didn't know what to think. I felt strangely uncomfortable around him, though I honestly don't know why. I think my reaction on Monday was simply… I didn't know what to do. You suggested spinning it so that it was Ryan's fault, and I didn't stop you." Troy shrugged his shoulders. "And here we are! I'm fighting off football jocks to make it up to a friend of mine who wanted nothing more than somebody to confide in."

Chad was silent for a moment. "Are you… are you sure there wasn't more?" he finally asked, diffidently. "I mean, that picture we took… you two were pretty cozy."

Troy looked angrily at Chad. "I'm not gay! Nothing happened on Friday night!"

"How can you be so sure?" Chad pressed. "I mean, you said so yourself, you don't remember what happened."

Troy glared at Chad for a moment. "I would know," he growled. A silence befell them, as they kept walking. It was at this point that Chad realized that the two of them had long since reached the car park, and were currently circling around it, talking. "I know nothing happened on Friday," Troy finally said, his voice softer. "Ryan never would've taken advantage of me, whether I was completely drunk or just passed out."

Chad considered that for a second. "I think you're right," he finally said. "All he did that night was make sure you were alright. He cut you off when he thought you'd had too much to drink, he made sure you were in his bed so that if you threw up or anything he'd be there to help you." The pair walked a little further. Then Chad spoke again. "God, we both fucked up, didn't we?"

Troy chuckled, though his laughter held no mirth. "You said it."

"But we're not going to leave it at that, are we?" Chad said, infusing his voice with more energy.

"My God, Chad, if you turn this into a Wildcats cheer that ends with 'get'cha head in the game,' I am going to beat you to death with a shovel," Troy warned.

Chad laughed at that. "What I mean," Chad said, "is that you're trying to make it up to Evans, and I'm going to do my best to help." He clapped Troy on the shoulder. "And I am going to show you that I do have your back. If those jocks try to mess with you, they're messing with me too!" And after a slight pause, "And if they're messing with Ryan, they're messing with me too!"

Troy finally gave his first genuine smile of the afternoon. "Thanks, Chad. Hopefully we can get the rest of the team to feel the same way; the more people watching out for Ryan, the better."

"Agreed," Chad said, nodding his head. "And, Troy?"

"Yeah, Chad?"

"If you were gay, I'd have your back."

"Moot point, Chad."

"If you say so."

qp

"Hello?" Troy said, answering his phone. He was sitting on his bed, doing his Chemistry homework.

"Hey, Troy, it's me, Taylor."

"What's up, Taylor?" Troy asked, a little confused. He wasn't sure, but he didn't think he'd ever gotten a call from Taylor.

"Not much, just doing homework," Taylor responded, her voice sounding a little strange. Troy could've sworn he heard… nervousness? "The reason I was calling was about Ryan," Taylor continued.

"What about him?" Troy asked.

"I heard about what happened to him today," Taylor said. "And I heard about what you did for him."

"Ok. So what?" asked Troy, suspiciously. He'd never had a problem with Taylor before, but she was still friends with Gabriella, and that made her an unknown variable. He was half expecting her to be jumping on the Troy's in love with Ryan bandwagon. It seemed to be the only tune that Gabi knew, these days, and she seemed to be singing it all the time. Even worse, everybody else seemed to think it was a great tune to hum along to.

"I wanted to ask you if I could help in any way?" Taylor said, in a rush, as though she had to get the words out fast lest they not come out at all.

"Help?" Troy asked, dumbfounded.

"I feel guilty for doing my part to paint a bull's-eye on his back," Taylor explained. "I never thought that the picture would've gotten out to the school; I had no idea that Gabi would do something like that."

Troy shrugged, though naturally Taylor couldn't see that. "She's changed, Taylor," Troy said. "At least, from where I'm sitting. She just started getting more secretive around me, and we started spending less time together. Then she tried out for the Winter Musicale and was beat out by Sharpay."

"Oh, I remember that," Taylor said, chuckling. "Sharpay would not shut up about that for so long; I felt so sorry for Ryan."

Troy smiled at the memory as well. "He and I actually hung out a little around that time; Gabi was acting all moody, and Ryan was trying to get away from his twin. We went to a movie or two, watched Ryan totally own this little kid at Dance Dance Revolution. Well, first it was the little kid, and then he kicked my ass at it."

"With the way he dances, I'm not surprised," Taylor said, dryly.

"Yeah," Troy agreed, remembering that day fondly. He'd played DDR maybe once or twice previously, on Gabi's urging. It had just been moving his feet around, hitting the arrows, then. When Ryan did it, though, he'd brought rhythm into it, and fancy footwork. Troy had been amazed, and had watched his lithe, graceful body the entire time. Shit! Troy shook away those memories. He was straight, and not in any way interested in Ryan Evans. "Anyway," Troy continued his tale of Gabriella, "after the musicale auditions, she tried to blame me for not helping her enough with them. I didn't try out, so Ryan was a shoe-in for the male lead. I guess Gabi's thinking was that Ms. Darbus was casting with an eye on the final result. Sharpay and Ryan are a better duo than Ryan and Gabi are, so Gabriella claimed that that made the difference when Ms. Darbus had to choose between the two girls."

"That's pretty much what she told me about it," Taylor agreed, "but honestly, I don't know if I agree with it. Seems to me, Ms. Darbus would cast the best for the part." Taylor paused. "Why didn't you audition, Troy? You auditioned for the Fall musicale, and even sang that duet with Ryan in the production. I think we were all sort of shocked when you didn't even try out for the winter musicale."

Troy grinned uneasily. "A lot of it was basketball practice," he began, "just like last year. Only this year was my last year, and I had one last chance to impress the scouts."

"Well, I'd say that full ride scholarship pretty much shows that they were impressed, Troy," Taylor said, proudly.

"Part of it was Ryan, though," Troy confessed. "I knew that he really, really wanted that part in the musicale, and if I tried out and did a pairs audition with Gabi, we might have actually won." Troy shrugged. "I knew I wouldn't be able to devote all my time to the role like Ryan could, and I didn't want it nearly as much as he did. So I made up an excuse about basketball and let him have at it."

"Hmmm." Troy could almost see Taylor scratching her chin thoughtfully, and beat her to the punch.

"Ryan's just a friend, Taylor," Troy tried to convince her. "Well, actually, after what I did to him last week, I'm not even sure he'd call me a friend," Troy said, sadly.

"Hey, I didn't say anything about that, Troy," Taylor said, amusement in her tone over his defensiveness. "And as to the other part, that's where I come in."

"How?" Troy asked, curious.

"Well, if we can force those jocks to leave Ryan alone, I'd say that's worth doing," Taylor said. "Maybe I can find out something on the school's computers that we can use against them."

"Blackmail?" Troy asked, a little shocked. "I didn't expect to hear something like that from you."

"Blackmail's such an ugly word," Taylor said. "I wouldn't rule it out, though. We need something on these jocks that we can threaten them with, something good. Unless you want to walk around for the next two months watching your back. And Ryan'll need protection, too. Two months is an awfully long time; sooner or later, they'll find the right time and I don't want that to happen."

"You have a point," Troy acknowledged. "Yeah, we could probably use all the help we could get. And Taylor?"

"Yeah, Troy?"

"Are you… are you going to mention any of this to Gabriella?" Troy asked, a little apprehensive.

Taylor considered this a moment. "I don't really think we need to," she answered, finally. "I mean, she's still my friend and all, but you're right Troy- she has changed. She doesn't share anything with me anymore; I don't even know why she broke up with you. She's seldom at her house, and don't answer phone all that much. Whatever it is that Gabriella's doing, or who she's seeing, she doesn't want us to know about it."

"Whatever," Troy said. "We're not together any more, and we're not friends, either. I thought I wanted to know why she broke up with me; part of me is still curious. But it won't really change anything."

The two continued talking on the phone for a few minutes more, about the humdrum of everyday life. Eventually, Taylor had to get back to her homework, and the two hung up, promising to compare notes. Taylor also told Troy that the Chem Club was going to watch out for Ryan, too. Well, except for Gabriella, but she didn't hang around with the Chem Club hardly at all, anymore. She hadn't even entered that year's Scholastic Decathlon that year, choosing instead to sulk about losing the musicale part to Sharpay.

Troy returned to his homework, rather reluctantly. He really didn't want to do it, and couple in the fact that he hadn't really listened to the teacher, and he was therefore having problems finishing it. Finally giving it up as a lost cause, Troy put his books away and got ready for bed. Before he got into bed, however, Troy picked up his cell phone. He had been thinking about it all night, and before he managed to talk himself out of it, he hit one of his speed dial buttons.

As Troy sat there on his bed, waiting for the other person to pick up, he listened to the ringback tone. Considering whom Troy was calling, the fact that it was from a musical was not surprising; what was surprising was what it said. Troy never would've guessed that the boy would've picked a song that was about being totally fucked. A somewhat ominous line, actually. Finally, the song cut off as the other person answered.

"Hello?" asked Ryan, his voice groggy and heavy from sleep. Troy mentally kicked himself; he'd never even considered that he might have been waking the blond up. Troy opened his mouth to greet him, but froze. Suddenly this wasn't such a good idea; what the hell could he say, apart from asking him how he felt?

"Hello? Is somebody there?" Ryan inquired again, more awake this time.

"Hey, Ryan, it's Troy," Troy quickly answered. There was silence on the line. "You know, Troy Bolton," Troy said, stupidly. He hadn't meant to say that, but it came out anyway.

"I know who you are, Troy," Ryan sad, sharply. "You've made yourself rather hard to forget."

"Uh…," Troy stumbled. This wasn't going well, at all. "How do you feel? I mean," Troy hastily added, "after what happened at school today."

"The bruises will fade in time," Ryan said evenly, after another pause. Troy once again had no answer for that; nowadays, every thing that Ryan said, Troy wasn't sure how to respond.

More silence. At this point, Troy was trying to figure out how to end the call; obviously, Ryan didn't want to talk to him, and Troy was dying here!

"My nose is a little swollen," Ryan finally said, "but no broken bones or anything. I'm just a bit sore." Troy almost sighed audibly. Ryan was actually contributing to the conversation, which made it easier on Troy to continue talking.

"Do you think you'll be at school tomorrow?" inquired Troy. Hopefully if Ryan was still willing to talk to him, which looked more promising since the events of the day, perhaps they could have a more serious conversation that might actually patch things up between the two.

"Probably not," Ryan said. "I… I honestly don't think I can just go back there tomorrow, with those jocks waiting for me." Ryan sighed. "If I had my way, I wouldn't have to go to East High ever again. But it's only two months till graduation, and I'm not going to just transfer or drop out now. I just need some time to regroup. Do you know what I mean?"

"I do," Troy said, sincerely. "Well, as long as you're coming back sooner or later."

"Yeah," Ryan said, slowly. "Hey, Troy, if you don't mind, I'm going to let you go and then go back to sleep."

"Oh, that's fine," Troy quickly said. "I'm sorry for waking you. You have a good night, Ryan!"

"You too, Troy," Ryan said, softly. "And… thanks again for standing up for me today. I… didn't expect that." With that, Ryan ended the call.

Troy looked at the phone for a moment afterwards. Ryan hadn't expected Troy to stand up for him? Troy hoped that was only because of the picture incident, and not an opinion that Ryan had always had of him.

Still, Troy felt he was making major progress with his goals. Though the conversation had been short, and the beginning excruciatingly awkward, there had been a short time where the two of them were just chatting, without that barrier completely between them. Troy felt like he had breached that barrier, if only a little, and that if he kept it up, he could finally make it up to the friend that he hadn't realized that he truly cared about until he started losing him. Kelsi had been right; Ryan was a great guy, and Troy didn't feel like he was wasting any of his time in regaining his friendship.

Putting out the light, Troy laid down in bed, staring up at the ceiling while thinking about his situation with Ryan. And, dwelling on the progress that had been made, Troy finally achieved something that had thus far eluded him during this Ryan business- Troy managed to fall asleep early for once, and slept soundly until morning.

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Another chapter down, and fun times to come!! For those awaiting a Ryan and Troy confrontation/serious conversation, it's coming very soon! Of course, will Troy figure out his feelings for Ryan yet? Probably not; he's pretty slow about that.

Plz read and review!!

Squall Thrawn


	6. Out of the Mud Puddle, Into the Ocean

A/N: So, Sunday! Time to update!! I was having problems with the beginning, at first… and then, it all started to flow and I wrote the majority of it in one night. Also, behold my longest chapter yet, and something that I'm sure many of you are looking forward to.

I particularly enjoyed writing this chapter, and I'd be thrilled beyond belief if you fine people let me know what you thought of it.

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

qpqpqpqp

Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 6 - Out of the Mud Puddle, Into the Ocean

Today was another great day for Troy Bolton. For the second time in the last week or two, he had gotten plenty of sleep at night, and had actually gotten to school on time without having to rush around. True, Ryan wasn't at school today, just like yesterday, but Troy could deal. Though he was definitely getting worried; what if Ryan had decided to leave, after all? Okay, on second thought, maybe Troy couldn't deal.

And as dark storm clouds loomed overhead; heavy, black, and pendulous clouds that foreshadowed the nearly inevitable rainfall, Troy was in search of the one person who could actually help him. He'd left Kelsi alone yesterday, lest he seem overbearing, though Troy was eager to find out how Ryan was and if he was coming back. He knew the two of them were talking, and Kelsi had promised to let Troy know if she found out anything that could help him patch things up. Troy's patience had only lasted so long, though, and now on Wednesday, two days after the incident with the football jocks, he was tired of waiting. He knew that these things took a lot of patience; after all, Troy had broken the trust between him and Ryan, and such a thing was not easily mended. But at the same time, Troy was tired of the silence between he and his friend, and especially tired of seeing Ryan at school everyday, looking lost and hurt. And though he didn't have to see that today, Troy didn't appreciate the difference.

"Kelsi!" Troy called, finally spotting the short composer as she walked through the front doors.

"Good morning, Troy," Kelsi said, calmly. "What's going on?"

"Ryan's not here, today," Troy said immediately. "He always rides in with Sharpay, and she drove in today with no passenger."

Kelsi looked a little concerned. "I was over at the Evanses last night for a little while; I'm writing some new music, and I wanted to hear what Ryan thought about it. Sharpay's treating me a little better than before, but she's still not my favorite person. Ryan, though, has already used his parents and their friends to get my name out to all the important people. That's what my meeting two weeks ago was about." Kelsi smiled a little. "Anyway, we actually talked about you a little bit." Kelsi's tone turned serious. "I guess what happened on Monday, and your phone call, loosened things up enough that he actually was willing to open up to me about it.

"He… did?" Troy asked, gulping. "What did Ryan say?" Troy felt excited at this development, but also a little nervous. What if Ryan had decided to forget Troy completely? What if he really _was_ never going to come back to school?

"What do you expect, Troy? You hurt him a lot," Kelsi said, bluntly. "If I was to tell you that he never wanted to speak to you again, could you really say you didn't deserve it?" Troy's face fell. "Be that as it may, I think you actually have a chance, Troy," Kelsi added. "He does still want to talk to you, but at the same time, I don't think he's going to even consider forgiving you until he knows why you did it."

Shaking her head, Kelsi continued. "Ryan asked me a few times if I knew why you did it; that seems to be bothering him quite a bit. Even after I told him I didn't know, he came back to that again, and again. I still couldn't help him because I truly don't know, Troy. I just can't understand how you could've been so cavalier about Ryan's feelings, yet suddenly do an about-face and act contrite." Troy opened his mouth, but Kelsi waved him to silence. "I don't need to know, but Ryan does." Kelsi quickly poked Troy in the head, tapping his forehead a few times. "But I think that before you tell Ryan why, _you_ need to understand why, yourself. Because I don't think you truly know either."

"In a way, you're right, Kelsi," said Troy, grimacing. "I do actually know what brought me to my senses; Sharpay can definitely slap hella hard. She hit me physically, and then brought home to me just how much I'd hurt Ryan. What I don't know is why I did it in the first place. I want to say that it was self-preservation; I didn't want people in this school to think I was gay. But since I stood up for Ryan on Monday, I've heard people mutter about us. I'd have to say that that actually made them think I was gay more than that photo did." Troy shrugged his shoulders. "And I could care less, to tell you the truth. I know why I did what I did, and I would do it again. So what changed? And I'm pretty sure that if those jocks had attacked Ryan Monday afternoon, I probably would've defended him then, too."

Kelsi was silent for a moment, considering Troy's words. "There may have been something from Friday night that could've set you off," she said, finally. "I don't know what it was, but Ryan seemed to indicate that there was perhaps a joke or a comment made in jest. He said you looked uncomfortable, though he wasn't entirely sure why, and then you soon made your excuses and left his room. I'm guessing that that was when you proceeded to start drinking heavily."

And there it was. Troy could see the puzzle finally starting to come together. Troy could only assume, but he figured that Ryan had probably come onto him, or something, and Troy had felt uncomfortable. Not wanting to think about it, Troy had tried to drown the memory in alcohol, but instead had drowned the entire night. That would also explain why Troy felt so awkward around Ryan the next morning, and why he would actually go along with discrediting the photo by outting Ryan. Though that hadn't been his original intent. He just didn't want to be seen as gay.

But wait a second. Kelsi said that Ryan had been unsure as to why Troy reacted the way he did to the comment. Surely, if Ryan had hit on him, he wouldn't have been unsure about it. So maybe not a come on. Then what was it? And why did Troy react the way he did to the idea of somebody believing him to be gay? Troy was starting to wonder why he _was_ acting so sensitive about being thought of as gay. For that matter, why did Chad, Taylor, and Kelsi all seem to act as if he had something going on with Ryan? Too many questions, not enough answers. The only answer that Troy had was that he had been stupid in not taking his own advice. If he'd just talked to Ryan in the beginning, he could've figured out the whole story. And things probably would been a lot less painful than they ended up turning out.

"You look like you're deep in thought, Troy," Kelsi said, appraisingly. "I'm not going to pry; you've already dragged me into this mess more than I want to be," Kelsi said, shaking her head. "I don't even know why I let you; I guess I just wanted the two of you to patch things up, and left to yourselves you'd probably muck it up."

Troy could only agree. As he watched Kelsi walk away from him, Troy considered what he still had to do, and how to do it. Obviously, he couldn't realistically expect Ryan to just show up for school tomorrow, since he hadn't today or yesterday, and if Troy waited too long, Ryan might just end up leaving the school and possibly Albuequerque. Not to mention the fact that Troy really didn't feel comfortable talking about this sort of thing with Ryan at school. That ruled out school.

There was also the possibility of Troy's house, but Troy ruled that one out, too. Ryan wasn't going to meet Troy on his own turf, not when Troy still wasn't in his good graces. That probably also ruled out a neutral place, like Starbucks or something. Which, of course, left Ryan's estate. Troy had known it would come down to that, but wasn't looking forward to it, unless he could somehow avoid Sharpay. Until he and Ryan were friends again, Troy couldn't risk being stopped by Sharpay. Maybe he would leave school early, and catch Ryan before Sharpay got home from classes.

Finally joining up with just Chad and Zeke at his lockers, Troy half listened to their conversation as he mentally plotted out what to say. Jason Cross was noticeably absent from their group- since that Monday incident, Troy had barely spoken to him, and vice versa. Troy was understandably disappointed in the fact that his friend had run off and abandoned him completely, while Jason had made it fairly clear that he wasn't so cool about Troy standing up for Ryan. Or any other homosexual, for that matter. Jason may have been ok with a few gentle jokes, here and there, of the usual variety, but as soon as it appeared as if Troy might have had something going on with Evans, Jason had pulled away.

Nor was he alone in this viewpoint; several other players from the Wildcats basketball team were taking his stand, and were not as friendly to Troy as they had been. Troy, and Chad as well. Chad had quickly made it quite clear to the team, and by extension to the school, that anybody who messed with Troy or Ryan would have to answer to him. Therefore Jason was steering clear of Chad, as well. On a brighter note some of the other players were surprisingly supportive of the matter, and Troy was fairly sure that if and when Ryan did come back to school, he'd have about half of the basketball team backing him up. Ryan's Bodyguards, as Chad joking called them, were gaining members every day.

Suddenly Troy became dimly aware that Chad was trying to get his attention.

"Hey, we need to be getting to class, dude," Chad said, chuckling. "You with us today, Bolton? You seem distracted… again." Chad sighed. "It's about Evans again, isn't it? I thought the two of you were getting along, better. Didn't you call him and everything?"

"Yeah, I did," Troy said, picking up his bag and starting to head for homeroom, Chad right beside him. Zeke had already headed off to his own homeroom. "It's just… I still don't know how to explain to Ryan what I did without coming across as an utter schmuck."

"That's because you were one," Chad commented, helpfully. "You hung him out to dry, and then felt guilty about it. Now you want him to forget that any of this ever happened." Chad whistled. "Boy, do I not envy you."

Troy glared at his friend. "You're really not helping matters, Chad," Troy grumped. "I thought you said you were gonna help me."

"Well, you could profess your undying love for him," Chad offered. "That might blow his mind." Then Chad got a positively wicked look on his face. "Then you could…"

"Chad!" Troy replied sharply, as he pointed his finger at his friend. "Don't even think about finishing that sentence." Then Troy's shoulders slumped. "Why does everybody keep insisting that I'm gay? I mean, a good portion of the school thinks so because I stood up for Ryan, and because of that picture. But why do _you_ keep saying it?" Troy asked. "You know I'm not gay."

"All I know is that you care about Ryan more than you think you do," Chad said, surprisingly. "I may be the dumb jock basketball player that everything thinks I am, but I'm not completely clueless. And I know you, Troy."

Troy shook off those ever-present thoughts about he and Ryan. "Though I maintain that you're wrong about Ryan and myself," Troy started, "I have to concentrate on regaining my friendship with Ryan, first." Troy paused, as an idea came to him. "And I think you can help me out. You and Zeke.

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Troy sat in the cafeteria, watching the central table on the balcony- Sharpay's table. The Ice Princess herself was eating her lunch there with Kelsi and a few others from the Drama Club. Kelsi, who was sitting right next to Sharpay, wasn't eating at all, but instead was writing some music. As Troy watched, he could see Chad and Zeke walking up the stairs, a large box in their hands.

"Sharpay," Zeke said when the two boys reached the female Evans twin, "I'm really sorry for what I did last week. So, I, um, baked this for you during free period." Zeke had needed little encouragement to fall in with Troy's scheme; he would've tried anything to make it up to her. And as long as Sharpay never found out their plan, Zeke's apology cake might just do the trick.

"Didn't you hear me before, Baylor?" Sharpay snapped. She got up from her chair and walked around to where the two boys were standing. Troy could tell she was pissed off even from where he was sitting. Zeke obviously picked up on her mood as well, as he gestured to Chad and they took the lid off of the box. Troy had no idea what Zeke had written on the cake with icing; just as Zeke was starting that part, he'd had to track down Kelsi and rope her in on the plan. Zeke had said that it was going to be something heartfelt, though, something he'd said to her back when they were still dating.

Troy watched as Sharpay read the message, and as she stood there Troy could've actually sworn he could see her soften towards the black boy. What he had written had done its job, apparently. For a moment, at least. Then Troy saw her face clenched in anger.

"Not a chance, Zeke!" Sharpay finally yelled. "Do you really think this… really nice… cake, is going to make me forget what you did to me? And my brother?" she added, almost as an afterthought.

"Well, I didn't know what kind of cake Ryan likes," Zeke said, shrugging. "Could you ask him?"

"I always pictured Ryan as a pie kinda guy," Chad interjected, lips pursed in thought. "Like, blueberry or something."

Sharpay looked at the two of them, nonplussed. Troy was actually shocked to see the girl at a loss for words. Though Troy had to say that a debate about whether Ryan liked blueberry pie better than cake was liable to do that. "That is not the point, Zeke!" She then proceeded to let them know exactly what her point was. In precise and rather loud details. Troy stopped listening to her, as he instead focussed on Kelsi. Zeke possibly making up with Sharpay was an added bonus to the plan, but the main goal was being carried out by Kelsi. While Zeke and Chad had Sharpay's and indeed the entire Drama Club's attention, Kelsi was silently pulling out Sharpay's cell phone from her bag. Because of too many bad experiences and detentions, nobody went around school without their cell phone on vibrate. Especially in Ms. Darbus's class. Kelsi was turning on Sharpay's ringer full blast so that when Chad called her during her Drama class, it should be enough to get her in detention. Enough time for Troy to get to the Evans estate and Ryan, first.

The complicated part came when Troy realized that he could take no part in the plan; Troy knew that he needed to get back on Sharpay's good side. He figured that would help his attempts to regain his friendship with Ryan. Therefore, his role in the operation was strictly planning and observing.

Just then, Kelsi gave Troy the thumbs up; she had succeeded. As long as nobody else tried to call Sharpay before they did, they were golden. Troy turned his attention back towards Sharpay, who seemed to be calming down. Perhaps Zeke would actually be able to make things work, this time. Troy just didn't understand why Zeke would want to; Sharpay was definitely too high-maintenance for him.

'Plus, you'd rather date her brother,' replied that snide voice in the back of Troy's head.

'Shut up!'

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"Kelsi! Did it work?" Troy inquired immediately, as soon as the short girl entered his last period class. He'd been on pins and needles since lunch period was over.

"I think she's gonna kill Chad, once she gets a chance to see who called her," Kelsi said, smirking. "It went off just as she was performing a scene in front of the entire class; Ms. Darbus went ballistic. Needless to say, it also totally threw Sharpay off and it sure won't do her grade any good."

"But did she get detention?" Troy asked.

"Her and this other girl," Kelsi said, nodding her head. "Apparently their ring tones were similar enough that the other girl pulled hers out too. So at least she'll have company."

Troy smiled. "I feel sorta bad for doing all of this," he confessed, "but not too much. It _is_ Sharpay, after all." Troy gave a glance over at Ryan's empty seat. "And I'm gonna make this count. I just wish I could've dressed nicer." Kelsi gave him another one of those looks that Troy tried to ignore. Why did he keep making stupid comments like that? His friends definitely did not need any more fuel for the fire.

Class was once again a blur for Troy, putting it on par with the rest of the day's classes. All Troy could think about was what to say to his blonde-haired friend. As soon as the bell rang, Troy was out of his chair and headed out the door. He'd already grabbed what he needed from his locker, and was now making a beeline towards the student parking lot. The sky was still dark and cloudy; it had rained off and on throughout the day, and looked as if it could start up again at any time.

"Hello, Mom?" Troy said, talking on his phone as he rushed towards his truck. "Yeah, I'm gonna be late, tonight. I have to… study with Ryan Evans. Yeah! Ok, I'll see you later, Mom. Yes, I love you too. Bye!" Troy closed his phone and was about to put it in his pocket when something suddenly impeded his path and he tripped and fell on the hard concrete. His palms were stinging and his knee was throbbing as he quickly got up to see what he'd tripped over.

"Better watch out where you're going, there, Bolton," sneered a rather familiar voice. Two of the football players who had been hassling Ryan were standing there, smirking. "Wouldn't want you to fall on your face. Your boyfriend may not want you if you messed up your looks."

Instead of answering, Troy looked around for the cell phone that he'd dropped; and quickly realized that the first football player was standing on it.

"Oh, looking for your phone?" The jock asked. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't notice it until it was too late. I hope it still works." He kicked the cell phone towards Troy, who picked it up. It was definitely broken beyond all repair; Troy grasped it tightly in his hand, the broken plastic digging into his flesh. Chad was nowhere to be found, but Troy didn't much care; these assholes were going down. But then, Troy remembered what he had been planning to do, what he had spent so much effort to arrange.

"Fuck you," Troy finally said. "Next time I see you two, you're going down. But I've got more important things to do. Plus, isn't that the Driver's Ed teacher right there?" Troy pointed the opposite way, and as the two jocks dimly turned to see who he was pointing at, Troy quickly darted between the cars to reach his truck. "Stupid idiots," Troy muttered to himself as he got into his truck. "I didn't expect them to actually buy that. They're probably the ones who misspelled faggot on Ryan's locker, too."

As Troy pulled out of the parking lot he couldn't see the jocks around, anywhere. Hopefully they had given up for the time being, but Troy kept an eye on his rear view mirror as he drove towards Ryan's place; after all, he didn't want them to find out where Ryan lived. Or where he lived, for that matter.

The Evans estate was on the outskirts of town, in one of the posher neighborhoods of Albuequerque. As Troy drove along, he recalled the last time he had been out this way- the night where all this began. Troy could only hope that this day was where it all ended.

Troy was about one or two miles away from his destination when disaster struck- Troy heard a loud pop and he suddenly had to fight for control of his truck. He immediately swerved off to the shoulder of the road and hit the brakes.

"Fuckin' hell," Troy swore with feeling as he got out of his truck and inspected the tire. As he had suspected, his rear driver's side tire had completely blown out. As far as Troy was concerned, this could hardly have come at a worse time; his cell phone was broken, and Troy already knew that his spare tire was flat. Number five on the list of things to fix for his truck.

Slamming his truck door shut and locking it, Troy started walking down the road. He already knew that there was no chance that any of his friends were going to pass by; this wasn't a neck of the woods they often frequented. With no working cell phone, Troy had but one choice, and that was to walk the rest of the way to the Evans estate. It was either that or find a nearby gas station, and Troy was still determined to see Ryan that night. Plus, Troy wasn't actually sure where the closest gas station was.

So Troy found himself walking down the sidewalks in this rather nice neighborhood. Hedgerows lined the sidewalk, neatly trimmed and coming up to Troy's waist. Troy's knee was still hurting him, but he tried to look on the bright side.

"It could be worse; it could be raining," Troy said, out loud, looking up at the sky. Apparently Troy's statement was heard by somebody up above, who definitely had a sense of humour. As Troy looked up at the sky, he felt the first raindrops on his face. It started out as a light sprinkling of rain; then the downpour came. "Alright, you've made your point," Troy said, bitterly. "That was _so_ not funny." Pulling his jean jacket up over his head, Troy continued walking as his sneakers began to squish with every step.

Troy had no idea how long he had been walking out in the rain; the Evans estate was still a ways away. Troy began watching for cars, hoping to catch a ride. He knew that the chances of getting one of these rich people to give him a ride were slim, but Troy could hope, couldn't he?

A BMW passed Troy, going rather fast for the road conditions. Troy sighed. This was not working out as he'd planned. His knee was now positively throbbing, and his feet were starting to hurt; if he'd known he'd be walking this far, he would've worn different shoes! Troy momentarily cheered up as he saw headlights coming towards him. That was until he saw the pink convertible emitting them. Without another thought, Troy leaped over the hedgerow and out of sight. Sharpay was probably fit to be tied over the detention and the messed up drama scene, and Troy did _not_ want to be spotted by her. Risking a look, Troy saw that Sharpay had gone, and jumped back over the hedgerow. And discovered, wonder of wonders, that his jeans and shoes now had mud all over them from his desperate hedge dive. Fan-fuckin'-tastic.

It could've been an hour, it could've been only twenty minutes; Troy's only way of telling the time, his cell phone, was broken. It sure felt like a long time, but Troy finally reached the driveway of the Evans residence. He could see Sharpay's Barbie Dream Car in the driveway, as well as quite a few other vehicles. Trudging up to the door, Troy rang the bell. Hopefully he could ask for Ryan without Sharpay being the wiser.

The Evans butler opened the door. "Yes?" he asked, looking over Troy's unkempt form with visible distaste.

"Um, I've been over here before," Troy said, uncomfortably. He knew how bad he looked. "I'm here to see Ryan Evans. I'm Troy Bolton."

"Master Evans has informed me that you are not welcome here," the butler replied. Troy's face fell.

"Oh my God, Troy Bolton?" came a shrill voice from the staircase. Troy visibly shrank as Sharpay descended the stairs. "What the hell are you doing here, I thought I told you never to show your face around here! And my _God_, what the _hell_ have you been doing?"

"I umm… My car got a flat tire when I was passing through," Troy said, fibbing just a bit. "My cell phone is broken, and this was the closest place to go."

"Well, that was an idiotic thing to do," Sharpay declared. "Do you actually think that I'd let you in here, looking like that? You're not welcome here!"

"What's going on, Sharpay?" came a soft voice, and a voice that Troy had come to sorely miss. Troy's heart skipped a beat as his eyes beheld Ryan Evans, clad in tight fitting black jeans, a blue button up shirt, and a black fedora. "Why is the door-" Ryan suddenly caught sight of Troy. "What are you doing here, Troy?" He ran his eyes over Troy's soaked, mud-stained clothes.

Troy flushed red. "I, er, came here to talk to you. Is that ok?"

Ryan was silent, his eyes unreadable.

Sharpay, on the other hand, didn't stay silent. "No, that is not ok, Bolton! I mean, the nerve of it…"

"Sharpay, please stop," Ryan said, softly yet firmly. "I can handle this, myself. Please." He locked eyes with his twin.

"Fine!" Sharpay finally said, sniffing. "I'm just trying to protect you from the likes of people such as Bolton."

"And I appreciate it, Shar, but I've got it," Ryan said, a tad impatiently. "I don't think Troy is going to hit me; if he was going to, I'd say he missed his chance."

"I wouldn't," Troy interjected.

Sharpay gave him a look of pure spite, and stomped away, angrily. Troy watched her leave, and then turned his attention back to Ryan.

"Ryan, I-" Troy started.

"You look cold," Ryan cut across Troy's talking. "Take your muddy shoes off and follow me." Troy quickly slipped off his soiled sneakers and stepped into the foyer of the Evans Estate. Without a word the butler closed the front door and took Troy's shoes, sneering as he did so. Ryan proceeded silently up the staircase, followed by Troy.

Troy remembered well the route; he'd taken it a few times before, and the last time had definitely been something to remember. And sure enough, Ryan led Troy into his room, still without another word spoken. Troy, for his part, was rather hesitant to break the silence. After all, if he said something and pissed Ryan off, what was to prevent Ryan from kicking Troy out of the house and making him walk home or something?

They entered Ryan's room, and Ryan immediately headed for the dresser. Troy stood in the middle of the room, looking really lost and confused. Ryan pulled out of the dresser some clothes, and handed them to Troy.

"Change into these," Ryan said, his voice still betraying no emotion. Without another word, Ryan was gone.

Troy looked over what Ryan had given him; plain, blue jeans, a blank white t-shirt, and white socks. Then Troy gulped, suddenly. Ryan had also provided him with boxers. Troy blushed crimson. There was suddenly a knock on the door, before the door opened, slightly.

"Wrap your wet clothes in one of these towels and use the other one to dry off," came Ryan's voice, before tossing two fluffy white towels into the room. Troy noticed that Ryan didn't enter at all, as if giving him privacy. "I'll be downstairs in the music room." The door closed again.

"Fuckin' hell," Troy muttered to himself, looking at the clothes, and then looking around Ryan's room. "I have absolutely no clue what to do, here." Troy felt like he'd been preparing himself for a wading pool, but had just been dumped into the ocean, with naught but a distant view of a life preserver.

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A/N: So, fun times!! Lots of fun to write, gotta tell ya. The next chapter is quite far along already, and reviews will only help to speed it up more!! Otherwise, next chapter, same bat time, same bat channel!!

Squall Thrawn


	7. Revelations Are a Double Edged Sword

A/N: All I can say is… Oh. My. God. I was overwhelmed by the amount of reviews I've received after that last chapter. I will state that it was one of my favorite chapters to write… to date. But this one's fun, too!! And though I caution you from expecting it all the time, this chapter is even longer than the last one. With both this one and the last one, I knew how I wanted to end them, and kept writing until got to said ending. But I cannot guarantee that all of the chapters will be this long…

So, in honour of all of my reviewers of this chapter and previous chapters, I shall dedicate this chapter to you!! And all of those people who I know want to review, but haven't yet!! So though I don't tend to post these things, I'm going to thank by name my reviewers.

Thanks to blazingfire03, CrashAndBurn93, uberpsi, BitterSweetDragon, lm2k6, hsmlover111, zacfan, Broken-SilverWings, surprised, OC4life, WriterOnWheels, Chuckness, lilmissHSM, Nicole, and t.

Super special thanks to born-to-be-a-shocker, tragicluv, and Marcus 1233 for reviewing every chapter!! Those were great, long reviews, Marcus!!

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

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Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 7 - Revelations are a Double-Edged Sword

Troy was familiar enough with the layout of the Evans estate, yet he paused before heading into the music room where Ryan Evans was waiting for him. He could hear strains of a melody being played on the grand piano. Troy was clad in the clothes that Ryan had gotten out for him, and while they were fairly plain clothes, Troy couldn't have been any happier to get out of his wet duds. Though Troy honestly would not have guessed that Ryan actually owned a pair of blue jeans.

When Troy had planned everything out, talking with Chad at school, things had seemed so simple then. Delay Sharpay, drive to Ryan's residence, and have a heart-to-heart talk with him. Of course, simple was not easy by any stretch of the imagination. But one flat tire, thunderstorm, and muddy patch of lawn later, and even simple had turned into hideously complicated. And now Troy was wearing borrowed clothes and was in way over his head.

Troy hesitated a moment more before walking through the open door to the music room. Ryan was exactly where Troy had expected him to be, sitting at the grand piano. The music being played by Ryan's sure hands was slow, mournful, almost resembling a dirge. Troy had never heard Ryan play before, but was actually not surprised to learn that he was good. Perhaps not as good as Kelsi, but still practiced. As Ryan hit the notes, his head slowly bobbed in time with the music. Troy slowly approached the boy, not wanting to disturb him.

"It's Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata," Ryan said without looking around or even missing a note.

"You're really good," Troy said, impressed. "I can't believe I didn't know you could play."

"With Kelsi around, we've never needed another piano player around," was Ryan's response. "But when she's not around, and Sharpay demands an accompanist with her singing, I get drafted. That's why I learned in the first place. But sometimes I play for only myself." Still playing the piano, Ryan began another song. This one, Troy recognized from cell phone ring tones as Für Elise.

"Listen," Troy finally said, "Umm… thank you for letting me come in. And for the clothes."

Ryan finally stopped playing. He still didn't make eye contact with Troy, however, with his gaze firmly fixed on the piano. "Where did the mud come from?" he asked, not acknowledging Troy's thanks.

"I was leaping over a hedgerow," Troy admitted, flushing.

That, apparently, was enough to peak even Ryan's interest. Ryan turned around, abruptly, finally looking at Troy. "Why were you leaping over a hedgerow?" he asked. "And I noticed you didn't have your truck, either."

Troy sighed. "I was heading over here right after school, when my tire blew out. My cell phone got broken today, so I couldn't call anybody, and I wasn't sure where else to go." Troy chuckled. "And the hedgerow? I was trying to avoid being spotted by Sharpay as she drove by. I had been hoping to get here before she did, to avoid the confrontation that ended up happening after all."

Troy could've sworn he saw the traces of a smirk in Ryan's features, but it was gone quickly. "So I'm guessing you're responsible for her detention, somehow," Ryan stated. "Why didn't you just leave right after school, maybe have Kelsi delay her for five or ten minutes? Sharpay never leaves school on time, anyway, so you would've had enough time to get here. All you did was put her in a really foul mood."

Troy hung his head, sheepishly. "I hadn't thought of that."

"You spend too much time around Danforth," Ryan said, simply. "His skill for bad planning has obviously rubbed off on you."

"You could be right," Troy said, shrugging his shoulders. Silence befell the two boys, still so awkward with each other. Ryan, apparently not liking the silence, turned back around and resumed playing Beethoven. Troy stood there for a second before coming to a decision. He steeled himself, and without a word sat down on the piano bench next to Ryan. Troy could tell that Ryan felt just as tense as he did, and Troy made sure not to make any physical contact.

Troy couldn't help but try to bring up the reason why he was here, though. "So, I was talking to Kelsi today, and-"

"Are you hungry, Troy?" Ryan interrupted, yet again. "Dinner will be served shortly, and there's always more than enough."

Troy felt frustrated. How was he ever going to patch things up if Ryan never let him finish his sentences? He sure hadn't gone through all of this, just to be shut down. He was just opening his mouth to protest when Ryan gently laid his finger on Troy's lips. The quick touch, though slight, sent shivers down Troy's spine.

"I know, you want to have a serious conversation," Ryan said, softly. "I just… don't know if I'm up to it, Troy. You have no idea how much you hurt me, and I'm not sure if I'm ready to forgive you."

"So why do all this?" Troy asked, without thinking. "Why did you let me in the house, give me clothes, and offer me dinner?"

"I don't know, Troy," Ryan said. "Maybe because even if I'm not sure I'm ready for the talk that we really need to have, the fact that you _did_ endure all of this just to talk to me… I couldn't just turn you out."

"Sharpay could've, and would've," Troy pointed out.

"I'm not Sharpay," Ryan said, simply. "You know that. And I thought _you_ were different than Chad and the other basketball players." Ryan turned away.

"I… I am," Troy said, insistently. "That guy last Monday, the one who said those things and told others to say them… that wasn't me."

"That's always your excuse, isn't it, Troy?" Ryan said, his voice sharper. "If you do something that makes you look bad or if you do something you regret, you claim that that's not the real you. Why can't you admit that you're human like the rest of us, and that you made bad choices, said the wrong things?"

"Because I don't want to believe that I'm the sort of person who would hurt you like that," Troy replied, his voice barely a whisper.

Ryan had no answer for that, and the two sat on the piano bench in silence, until they were informed that dinner was served.

"My parents are out of town for business," Ryan informed Troy as they proceeded to the dining room. "It'll just be the two of us and Sharpay."

Oh, goody. Dinner with Sharpay. That sounded about as fun as rectal surgery. And probably more painful, too.

As it turned out, the main theme of the dinner was awkwardness. Troy guessed that Ryan must've said something to Sharpay previously, because she completely ignored Troy and concentrated on her meal. She exchanged light, if strained conversation with Ryan, while Ryan and Troy kept their talking to a minimum, as well. Their entire conversation basically consisted of Ryan asking Troy about whether the dinner was okay. As far as Troy was concerned, the Chicken Marsala and the rest of it was well beyond okay. He hadn't previously had a chance to eat dinner with Ryan at the Evans Estate, and now Troy had a secondary motivation for regaining his friendship with Ryan; the food was superb!

"Your clothes should be cleaned by now," Ryan finally said, after the two boys had excused themselves from the dinner table. Ryan had chosen to bring Troy into the estate's library. The two boys sat on a comfortable couch, a more than respectable distance separating them. A warm fire crackled in the fireplace, casting its heat on Troy. The two boys had sat in silence for a while, not sure of what to say to each other. "I had them washed and dried for you, and your shoes should be clean, as well."

"Oh, you didn't have to," Troy said, a little shocked. "I would've taken care of that."

"The tow truck should be here soon with your truck, as well," Ryan continued, not heeding Troy's comment. "I called him right after you started changing." Ryan shrugged. "Money can't solve every problem, but it can still solve quite a few."

Troy's mouth hung open. He definitely wasn't expecting any of this. And strangely enough, he wasn't sure he was entirely happy about it. Certainly, having the majority of his problems taken care of was a major load off of his mind. But at the same time, Troy couldn't help but feel that Ryan had done all of this simply to get Troy out of his house and on his way home. Still, his actions still merited thanks. "Do you want me out of here that badly?" Troy asked. Wait. Troy got wide-eyed as he realized what he had just said. Did he _really _just say that? After all, sure, it was what he was thinking, but that _definitely_ wasn't what he'd been planning to actually say.

Ryan, for his part, actually didn't look too shocked at the question, though Troy had found it a hard prospect to read Ryan's emotions at all tonight. Still, there was a moment as Ryan contemplated the question. "You can hardly say we're on the best of terms," Ryan said, finally, his voice even and emotionless. "If you'd rather just have a confrontation and then afterwards have to ask to use a phone to call a ride, though, do let me know. I figured getting the truck fixed would be a slightly less painful alternative." But then, in a whisper that Troy probably wasn't meant to hear, "I wish I wanted you to just leave. But I can't."

Troy heard him, anyway. "Why do you wish you wanted me to leave?" Troy asked.

"Because it would hurt so much less, Troy!" Ryan burst out. "If you'd just left me alone after Monday, I would've dealt with it. Sure, I'd just been betrayed by the closest friend I've ever had. But I would've gotten over it, Troy! It would have been so much easier if you just hadn't cared at all." Ryan shook his head. "But then, you started acting like you suddenly cared. You came looking for me that first day, you let me out of that damned janitor's closet, and you even saved me from those football jocks! And the phone call?"

"That's because I do care," Troy asserted.

"Then, why, Troy? If you cared about me, how could you do that to me?" Tears started sliding down Ryan's pale cheeks, as his voice broke. "You said you'd never tell anybody at East High, and you outted me to everybody! God! How can you say you care about me when you do that to me! Why must you make this so hard? Why can't you just let me hate you in peace?!" Ryan buried his face in his hands.

Troy's heart ached at hearing the raw emotion in Ryan's voice. "I never thought about the fact that I was going to be outting you," Troy said, softly. "The only thing I had running through my mind was that I had to convince everybody that I wasn't gay. Jason and Chad were the ones who suggested that we put the blame on you, but I'm just as guilty because I went along with it." Troy barked a laugh. "At the time, I wasn't even absolutely positive that you were gay." Ryan raised his head abruptly, looking at Troy in confusion and disbelief. "I drank too much on Friday, Ryan," Troy explained. "When I woke up, I remembered almost nothing of what had been said or what had happened. Including when you actually came out to me."

"So you don't even remember when I told you things I'd never told another living soul?" Ryan asked, a little hurt.

"I've only gotten back snippets of it," Troy replied in an apologetic tone. "And the rest of the story I filled in from everybody else's recollections." Troy paused. "Except for yours. You were the one I knew had the whole story, but part of me was afraid of the whole story. I was afraid of what I might find out."

"What were you afraid about?" Ryan asked, hurt still in his tone but now just the slightest hint of curiosity.

"I don't know," Troy confessed. "I have no idea what happened that night that made me want to drown it in alcohol." Troy shook his head. "But in the end, excuses don't matter." Though he was afraid of having his gesture rejected, Troy put his hand firmly on Ryan's shoulder. Ryan, startled, jerked his head up. But he didn't remove the hand. Troy cleared his throat. "What does matter is that you trusted me, and I let you down. Never again. I want to try to make amends. Because I couldn't live with myself if you hated me… and I did nothing to fix things."

"Maybe I need to just hate you," Ryan said, quietly. "Maybe that's the only way we're going to get closure out of this."

"I don't believe that," Troy declared. "I don't want closure, just yet, because I can make amends. And I _will_ do whatever it takes, for however long it takes, to prove to you that I do care about you. I want to earn a second chance, Ryan. I will show you how much I care." Troy's voice rang with sincerity and emotion, though Troy wasn't entirely where that particular emotion, that feeling, came from. He just knew he felt it when he was faced with the possibility that he would never have Ryan Evans as a friend, ever again.

"And when the school starts suspecting you're gay?" Ryan said, challengingly. "What then? Cut and run? Blame it all on me again?"

"It'd be too late for that. You haven't been there in two days. I'm surprised that Sharpay hasn't told you what's happened, it seems like a story she'd love to tell," Troy said, almost casually. "I'd say over half of just our graduating class thinks that the two of us are together. Either that or we just broke up." Ryan's jaw dropped open. "Yep," Troy added, almost cheerfully. "Since the incident with those football jocks, it's gotten around about how I stood up for you. Since it was just me against the jocks, everybody seems to figure that there must be something going on between us for me to do something crazy like that. Add in that suspicious-looking picture, and that's enough for them. Those football guys are actually gunning for me now as well, Ryan. That's how my cell phone got broken today."

"You mean…" Ryan trailed off, stunned.

"Yeah, as far as the school's concerned, I'm just as gay and just as outted as you are," Troy said, something akin to amusement in his voice.

"And that doesn't bother you?" Ryan asked. "You don't sound like it's bothering you."

"I don't care about what they think about me, anymore," Troy said, quietly. "I know who I am. I know why I stood up for you, and that's that. The people that I care about, Chad, Zeke, my parents- and you, too; yours are the only opinions that matter to me." Troy's tone turned ironic. "It's funny, isn't it? I was scared of what everybody at school would think of me; so scared, in fact, that I hurt you and blamed things on you just so they wouldn't think ill of me. And I only realized the truth of the matter when I saw what I'd done to you, and how much I missed you. As a friend, of course," Troy added, quickly. "I realized that I cared so much more about what you thought of me than what the entire East High student body thought." Troy sighed. "I just wished I'd had this realisation before I fucked up."

Ryan made no response, though Troy thought he felt Ryan relax just slightly. Troy's hand was still firmly on Ryan's shoulder, though the two boys were not sitting close.

"I don't know what to say, Troy," Ryan finally said. "You hurt me, and I don't know if I can risk being hurt like that again. Especially by you." Ryan moved slightly, and let Troy's hand fall from his shoulder. Troy opened his mouth as if to respond, but Ryan continued before he could. "But at the same time, part of me is saying that I should give you another chance. So I guess we'll just have to… see." Ryan's tone grew sharper. "And I'm sure I don't have to mention that if you hurt me again, Sharpay will have your guts for garters."

"That, I figured out for myself," Troy said, almost smiling. Sure, he had no doubt that Sharpay would make good on that threat, but that didn't matter that much. Even the possibility of Ryan giving him a chance filled Troy with more happiness than he would've thought.

"So, why did you drink so much, Troy?" Ryan eventually asked. "Do you even remember that? Was it something I said? I know you said that you were ok with me being gay, and I honestly thought you meant that. At the same time, though, I couldn't think of anything else that would cause you to start drinking that much."

Troy shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. Well, actually, your guess would probably be better, since you're the one with the clear recollection of the night. Though I do remember saying, and I still feel this way, that if you were gay, that would be okay. I like you, no matter what." Ryan smiled a little at Troy's statement. Troy, however, was trying to steer the conversation over towards what Kelsi had said. "Do you happen to remember what we were talking about just before I started the drinking? That might jog my memory."

"Well, I remember what I said last," Ryan said, thinking back. "You reacted kind of strangely to it. You looked… I'd almost have to say, disturbed. I honestly don't know why," Ryan added, shrugging. "That was just something that popped out when we were talking about Gabriella."

"We were talking about Gabi?" Troy asked, surprised.

"Well, we were talking about exes," Ryan amended. "I was telling you about mine, and you talked about Gabi. And you were telling me how she broke up with you, without warning or reason, and how good you'd treated her, what you thought about her. I said that anybody would be so lucky to have a boyfriend like you." Then Ryan flushed just a little. "Then I said, I wish I did." Ryan shrugged. "I didn't really see the harm in saying that. It was a compliment, really."

"Hey, I'd take it as one," Troy said, smiling. But for some reason the comment struck a chord inside Troy. He suddenly felt uneasy, almost unsure of himself. Was _this_ what had happened that night? Had Troy felt the same way then, as he was now? Coupled with the alcohol that Troy had already had that night, maybe it had affected him even more, then. But why? What was so nerve-wracking about Ryan wishing he had a boyfriend like Troy? Like the blond had said, it was a compliment! But even thinking about it made Troy want to block it out. He didn't want to even contemplate anything like that. He couldn't be a good boyfriend for Ryan, because Troy wasn't gay, so he wouldn't be interested in the slightest. Right? Right!

"Troy?" Ryan asked, a little concerned. Troy mentally shook himself.

"It's nothing," he lied, plastering a smile on his face. "I guess I don't know, then. As I said, though, it doesn't really matter. Nothing excuses what I did. No matter what could've been said or done." Troy shrugged.

Just then, there was a discreet knock on the library door. Ryan called for the person to enter. The door was slowly opened, revealing it to be the Evanses' butler.

"Master Ryan, the truck you ordered fixed has been delivered," the butler replied, without casting so much as a glance in Troy's direction.

"Thank you," Ryan responded, inclining his head. "Could you find out if Troy's clothes and shoes have been cleaned, and if they are, could you have them left in my bedroom?"

"Certainly." Without a further word, the butler left the two of them.

"Well, your transportation problems are now taken care of," Ryan observed. "If you feel the need to escape, now's your chance."

"Well, not escape, per se," Troy said, lost in thought. He didn't really want to leave, yet, but at the same time, Troy felt that he'd made good progress, and it was time to regroup and figure out what to say and do, next. "I do need to do my homework, though," Troy added. "And I'm sure my parents will start freaking out soon, if they haven't already." Left unsaid was the fact that Troy had to puzzle out his reaction to Ryan's seemingly innocuous statement.

"Alright," Ryan said, standing up from the couch. "I'm sure you'll want to get changed into your regular clothes; you can go ahead and use my room to change again; I'll walk you to the stairs, and then I'll be at the front door to see you out."

"Sounds good," Troy said, also standing. The two boys made their way out of the library and towards the central staircase. True to his word, Ryan left Troy to head up to his room alone, giving him time to change. Troy opened the door to Ryan's room, and was about to walk in when he was suddenly pushed forward into the room by somebody behind him. He heard the door shut, as he turned around.

"What the hell was that for, Sharpay?" Troy asked, annoyed. "Couldn't you have just said 'Troy, could I speak to you for a moment?' I would've said yes."

Sharpay ignored the comment. "Can you not take a hint, Bolton?" she asked instead, disgust in her voice. "I told you to leave my brother alone; I've told you repeatedly. You can't just hurt him like you did, then hope to waltz back into his good graces. Apparently, he likes you enough that he's willing to give you a second chance, but I know you're just going to hurt him more. I'm not giving you that second chance."

"This has nothing to do with you, Sharpay," Troy managed to get out; the girl was a force of nature, and it was well nigh impossible to get a word in edgewise when she was on a roll. "You're Ryan's twin sister, and I know that you care about him. But this is between him and me, and I am not going to hurt him. I care about him, a lot, and I'm going to show him that I do."

Instead of yelling at Troy some more about hurting Ryan, Sharpay stood there in silence for a moment, appraising him. "I know you just broke up with Gabriella about a month ago," Sharpay, her voice surprisingly even. "And you'll remember that Ryan got dumped by his boyfriend during our Friday night party." Troy, in fact, didn't remember this, but nodded anyway. "I also know that Gabi broke up with you rather harshly, probably leaving you quite bitter. So you may think it's funny to toy with my brother's emotions, but I assuredly do not." She glared at Troy. "So you can stop the gay act; it's not going to fly. You, Bolton, are poison. You make me sick." With that, Sharpay raised her hand as if to slap Troy. Reconsidering, though, Sharpay turned on her heels and walked out of Ryan's bedroom.

"Gay act?" Troy asked himself as he changed back into his old clothes. "What is she talking about?"

'She's just a little confused; she doesn't know that it's not an act,' that infuriating voice in his head said.

'Isn't it?' Troy asked himself, though he wasn't even sure he knew the answer any more.

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"Thanks for the dinner," Troy said, as he stood in the foyer of the Evans Estate. "It was excellent."

"I'll make sure the cook knows," Ryan responded, immediately.

"Also, Ryan… Thanks for letting me in," Troy said, in a softer tone. "I'm sorry you had to go through so much trouble- the wet, muddy clothes, the truck."

"You should consider yourself lucky that happened," Ryan replied, surprisingly. "If you hadn't looked so forlorn and pathetic, I don't think I would've have let you in, in the first place."

"Oh," was all Troy could say. "Well, thanks, anyway. For the hospitality." A pause. "Are you… are you going to be at school tomorrow?" Troy asked, finally.

Ryan just shrugged. "We'll see."

"Umm… Ok." The two boys stood there for a moment, looking at each other but not saying a word. Troy had no idea what Ryan was thinking, but he knew why he was still standing there- he wasn't sure how to end this. If it had been Chad, the two of them would've done their one-armed hug chest bump ritual. Same with Zeke, as well as Jason when the two had still been talking. Ryan, though? Troy had never considered doing it with Ryan; the boy seemed too high-class for something like that. And a handshake was too formal, a complicated hand motion or daps way too hokey. Troy really wanted to hug Ryan, to show him how much he cared, but at the same time was frightened of what would happen if Ryan didn't want Troy to touch him. And for that matter, why _did _Troy want to hug Ryan? That seemed suspicious, even to him.

'Is that your doing?' Troy asked himself, or more precisely, that part of him that kept telling him that he was a fool and that he had a crush on Ryan.

"I'll get the door," Ryan finally said, shifting from his spot. Feeling rather disappointed in himself, Troy realized that he'd missed his moment. Feeling rather foolish, Troy let himself be guided to the door. "Good night, Troy. Drive safely." There was a smile on Ryan's face, Troy noticed. A small one, to be sure, but a smile nevertheless.

"Sleep well, Ryan," Troy said, his own smile much bigger. On impulse, as he walked by Ryan, he quickly grasped the smaller boy's shoulder. It was a brief gesture, but Troy was gratified to see that Ryan didn't flinch from his touch. He retracted his hand, though not quickly by any means, and walked into the rainy night. Seeing his familiar pickup behind Sharpay's vehicle, Troy made his way to it as he heard the door close behind him. Troy was soon pulling out of the long driveway and was on his way home.

The downpour of earlier had slackened off, leaving only a watery drizzle in the air. The roads were still slick though, causing Troy to drive more carefully. But though he tried to concentrate on his driving, Troy couldn't help but think about the night's events, and how much of a mess they had made of his mind.

When Troy had woken up that morning, he had been bright-eyed and cheerful, sure that Ryan would be at school that day. They would have a serious talk, and hopefully patch things up. Once he had found that Ryan wasn't there, and that it was uncertain when the blonde was coming back, Troy, after speaking with Kelsi, had come up with a new idea. Kelsi had told him that Ryan needed to know why Troy had done what he had done. Therefore, Troy resolved to visit Ryan's estate, and have said talk. And of course, hopefully patch things up. A nice plan, to be sure, but all throughout this plan- and the previous one, for that matter- was the unspoken idea that speaking to Ryan would free Troy of all the guilt, all the emotions that he had been feeling since that day. Since wrecking their friendship had caused these feelings to plague him, Troy was sure that patching this up, talking to Ryan, would rid him of these feelings.

How wrong, how naïve he had been, Troy bitterly mused to himself. Since talking with Ryan, spending time with him, those feelings had merely intensified. Troy found it profoundly disturbing that even the slightest gesture by Ryan could affect him as much as they did. Those few smiles Ryan had graced him with had made Troy feel happier than he could guessed, while even the hint that Ryan would give him another chance filled Troy with hope. And Troy still remembered the shiver that had gone down his back when Ryan had gently laid his finger on Troy's lips.

The fact that Ryan's recounting of his innocent comment had Troy feeling unsure of himself disturbed him greatly, as well. This was intolerable- as soon as Troy thought he'd found the last pieces to the puzzle, suddenly there were more gaps in the puzzle. Odd gaps, that made it very difficult to tell what the pieces should even look like.

'You know what they look like, and you know what it means,' the voice advised him. 'You've always known, somehow.' The voice was surprisingly serious in its tone. Then it reverted to form. 'Moron.'

Troy was still turning these thoughts around in his head as he pulled into his driveway. He grabbed his book bag and walked towards the front door. His mother had the door open before he could reach it, however.

"There you are, Troy!" Troy could hear both exasperation and relief in his mom's voice. "I tried to call you but you weren't answering your phone. And you missed dinner! That's not like you, Troy." Moving off to the side, she let Troy in the house before closing the front door.

"Sorry, Mom," Troy apologized. "My cell phone… got broke just after I called you this afternoon. I didn't think I was going to stay that long at Ryan's, or I would've called."

His mother smiled at him, apparently not too mad. "Well, you're here safe and sound, and that's all that matters. Are you hungry?"

"I ate at Ryan's," Troy said, licking his lips involuntarily at the memory. "I'm still full from that."

"I suppose I should've guessed that," Troy's mother said, sighing. "That boy's always such a proper host; no doubt he was brought up that way."

"Yeah, Ryan made sure I was fed," Troy said, not elaborating on what else Ryan had done. Like replacing the truck tire- his parents might not ever let him drive his truck again if they heard about the blow-out. They were overprotective, sometimes. "Hey, I promised earlier I'd call Chad up, but I didn't get a chance at Ryan's. Do you mind if I…"

"Oh, go ahead, honey," Troy's mother waved him off. Troy smiled, and headed upstairs to his room. Dropping his book bag in the corner, Troy didn't pick up the phone but instead laid down on his bed. He wanted to call Chad, he really did, but he couldn't muster up the energy to deal with the call. Chad would ask him how it went, and what was Troy to say? _He_ wasn't even sure how it went. He'd only picked up more questions.

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Troy stifled a yawn behind his hand as he walked towards the front doors of the high school. Thoughts of Ryan had kept him up for quite some time, mulling over his reactions to what the boy had said and done. For just a brief moment, Troy had actually thought he'd figured it out, but it was gone just as soon. He wasn't sure if it was just a fleeting thought, or if it actually had been a full-fledged insight that had been immediately and ruthlessly repressed by his brain. That didn't prevent him from trying to recall it, though, as he headed towards his locker and his waiting friends.

"Troy! What's up, bud!" Chad was just as chipper as ever. "How did last night go? Are you two fucking yet?"

"Chad!" Troy cuffed his fluffy-haired friend in the shoulder. "I went over there to apologize, and don't evenkid about something like that, especially around here!" Troy lowered his voice. "Sharpay might kill me."

"Not to worry, my friend, because I have got your back," Chad said, confidently. "I'll use my mad skillz to jump in front of the bullets, shield your body with mine. Oooh! Do I get a really cool earpiece to wear, too?"

"Yeah, but your code name will be Chia Pet," Zeke chimed in.

Troy burst out laughing at Zeke's statement, as well as the look on Chad's face. He glanced over Chad's shoulder for about the third time, already. Troy knew that Ryan wasn't going to show up today, but at the same time Troy kept watching the door, hoping all the same.

"So, are you going to spill the beans about last night or not?" Chad pressed. "Cause no offense, dude, but I'd like for this Evans situation to be over and done with. Just make up already! Then make out," Chad added, evilly.

Troy opened his mouth to yell at Chad, but was distracted by a well-dressed sight. There was Ryan Evans, immaculately dressed as always, walking through the front door. As Troy kept watching the blonde, Ryan finally caught notice of him- and he smiled. Troy smiled right back, happy to see Ryan back at school, happy to see the blonde warming up to him. And then as Troy stood there, watching his friend, it suddenly fell on him like a ton of bricks. The hints, the innuendos, the strange feelings and emotions.

"Shit," Troy said out loud without thinking. "I do like Ryan Evans." And yes. He meant _that_ way.

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A/N: Well, looks like Troy might have finally figured things out… about bloody time, eh?

Also, anybody catch the musical/movie references in this chapter? Last chapter had some, too… kudos to those who spotted Rocky Horror…

So, the next chapter is scheduled to come out next Thursday… but I get even close to the response to this chapter as I did the last one, it might just come around sooner… Sound good?

Squall Thrawn


	8. Did I Actually Just Say That?

A/N: So, here's another fun installment of our continuing saga! I do foresee a definite end to it; I've already plotted out the last scene. And here's a hint: The last word isn't "Scar." Oh, and kudos to whoever gets that reference. But we've got a little ways til we reach any fun Tryan scenes! After all, Ryan isn't so much of a hussy that he'd forgive Troy just like that, just for some sweet lovin'! Or would he?

I guess I was hoping for a few more reviews for last chapter, considering how long it was and how much happened in it, but you've got the opportunity with this chapter to make up for it! How's that sound?

Also, for those people who didn't watch commercials in the eighties and early nineties, visit wwwdotchiadotcom for pictures and an explanation of a Chia Pet. I think you'll agree that Chad's hair resembles one.

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

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Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 8 - Did I Actually Just Say That?

Time seemed to grind to a halt as Troy realized what he had just verbalized. Thinking it was one thing- a big step, true, but actually saying it? In front of Chad and Zeke, who had definitely heard what he'd said? He couldn't take it back, now. As Troy thought reflected on it for a second, though, he realized he really didn't want to take it back.

"Well, it's about damn time," Chad grumbled, looking slightly surprised that Troy had actually admitted it. "So, I'm guessing your night did go well?"

Troy's shoulders slumped. "I don't know, Chad," he confessed. "Things looked promising at some points, but other times…" Troy sighed. "I knew I hurt him deeply; you told me, Kelsi told me, Sharpay told me off. It wasn't till I talked to him when I realized just how deep the cut was; I'm not even sure he's going to give me a second chance."

"Yes he will," Zeke said, entering the conversation. "He wouldn't have shown up for school this morning, otherwise."

Troy considered that a moment. "I suppose you're right," he allowed. "But even if we resume our friendship, what chance do I have to convince him that we should go out?" Troy shook his head. "I'm not even sure if I want to go out with him."

"Why the hell not?" Chad asked, surprised.

"Because he's a guy!" Troy exclaimed. A few students who happened to be walking by gave him a weird look. "Ok, that was loud," Troy said, flushing slightly. He lowered his voice. "Listen, Chad, it's one thing for me to admit that I actually like a guy. It's quite another thing for me to actually do something about it."

"What's so wrong about it?" Chad asked, the confusion plain on his face. "You've always claimed that you were ok with Evans being gay. Why wouldn't you be ok with you being gay?"

"Because I'm not gay!" Troy exclaimed, still taking some care not to be overheard, though. Chad gave him a skeptical look. "I like _girls_, Chad," Troy said. "I'm attracted to them; I mean, hey, I was with Gabriella for over a year! For a little while, there, I had sort of a thing for Sharpay, too. And lots of the cheerleaders. It's not like Gabi and I were sweet little innocent virgins, either; we've had sex before. Multiple times, in fact. No problems, there! It's never been an issue with me! I like girls!"

"And Ryan Evans," Chad interjected.

"And Ryan Evans," Troy admitted, in a soft voice. "Do you see what I'm talking about, though, Chad? Why should I complicate my life that much, when all I have to do is ignore my feelings on this one occasion?"

"Because Ryan brings out the best in you," Chad said, quietly. "I've seen how you act around him, compared to how you were when you were dating Gabi. Then, you wouldn't have come close to doing what you did on Monday, when you stood up for Ryan. I think dating Ryan would be good for you."

"And you have it way easier than most guys do when they date other guys," Zeke pointed out. "You're already out at school, so that's one less bullet to dodge."

"Oh, goody, a silver lining," Troy said, sarcastically. "And my parents? They're the ones that worry me."

"Doesn't your mom adore Ryan?" Chad countered.

"I just… I don't know, Chad," Troy said, shaking his head. "Let me think about it, ok?"

"What's the big idea, Bolton?" an angry voice said, from behind Troy. Troy quickly turned around to find Ryan Evans, along with one of Troy's fellow team mates.

"What do you mean, Ryan?" Troy asked, puzzled. So much for wishing him a good morning.

"He won't leave me alone, that's what," Ryan growled out, gesturing towards the tall, skinny basketball player standing beside him. "He said he's one of my bodyguards." Troy looked at Chad questioningly.

"Oh, I guess I should've mentioned that," Chad said, guiltily. "Troy was distracting me by some lame explanation about why he's gonna be a pussy." He received a glare from Troy for his troubles. "Well, after… umm… what happened Monday, and everything," Chad said, feeling a little uncomfortable explaining it to Ryan, "I sorta promised Troy that I would stand up for you, too. And, well, Kelsi got the Drama Club to help out, then Taylor did the same with her Chem Club… and then we talked to the basketball team…"

"So the point of all this is?" Ryan said impatiently.

"Basically, we're gonna make sure that you're safe from the football jocks," Zeke interjected, seeing that Chad _wasn't_ going to get to the point any time soon. "Well, you and Troy as well, since they seem to be aiming for him too, now. Anyway, that means that you've got an escort to your classes."

"We've found at least one person who can walk with you between your classes," Chad added.

"No," Ryan said, simply, but firmly. "I don't need bodyguards, and certainly not assigned by you, Danforth. I can take care of myself." Ryan turned and started walking away, but Troy, after shooting an apologetic look to his friends, rushed forward to walk beside him. Luckily, Troy missed the look that Chad exchanged with Zeke; otherwise, he would've been forced to hurt Chad.

"Ryan, can we talk about this for a second?" Troy asked, looking towards the blonde boy.

"What's there to talk about, Troy?" Ryan said, who wasn't making any eye contact at all with him. "I'm not helpless, no matter what your friend with the overgrown hair says, and I resent the fact that you think I am."

"I don't think you're helpless at all, Ryan," Troy said, immediately. "I just…" Troy trailed off, as he stopped in mid-stride. Surprisingly, Ryan, instead of taking the opportunity to leave Troy behind, stopped as well and finally glanced over at Troy. "Listen, Ryan, I know I promised that I would prove that I cared about you. And more than anything else, just the thought of those football jocks getting a hold of you frightens me to death. You're not helpless, Ryan, but I don't think _I_ could take all four of those goons by myself." Troy shook his head. "I didn't realize that Chad had taken it quite so far- apparently, those teams and clubs that he mentioned were only a portion of it; other people have come up and asked to help out." Sighing, Troy continued. "I know you don't like anybody interfering with your independence, especially Chad and me. But Chad only means the best, honestly, and so do I."

Ryan was silent as he regarded the brown-haired basketball jock. "I don't want a bodyguard," Ryan stated, finally. "I can't stand having somebody else hovering over me like that." Ryan paused, before adding in a softer voice," But I do appreciate the thought, Troy. If I agree not to wander around by myself and that I'll stick to larger groups, will that suffice? Monday was my own fault; I was the last one out of the boys' locker room after gym class, and wasn't paying any attention. Zeke is in my class, though. I'll let him escort me, just after that class."

Troy frowned. "You're still gonna cause me to worry about you," Troy admitted, "but I guess that'll work." The two resumed walking, apparently with no destination in mind.

"You should worry about yourself more," Ryan replied. "You're the one who keeps facing off with them, not me."

Troy shrugged. "Pretty much every one of my classes has one of my team mates in it, so the bodyguard thing won't bother me as much. I'd end up walking with them, anyway." Troy managed a slight smile, looking at Ryan. "I'm glad to see you here today," Troy said, honestly. "I wasn't sure if you were going to be here, but I hoped…"

Ryan paused a moment before responding. "I guess my feelings on school have changed, somewhat," he said, finally. "I can't let those jocks get the best of me; I'm an Evans, after all." Ryan actually flexed his muscles as if being an Evans was akin to being a superhero. "Also, one of my chief reasons for staying away… became one of my main reasons to give it another shot."

He hadn't named Troy specifically, but Troy was certain he was that reason. He felt oddly elated. Though not so odd, anymore. Troy finally had a context to put it in, and recognized it for what it was. This put it in an entirely different state of oddness, naturally.

Just then, Troy and Ryan were halted in their tracks by a dark-haired girl who looked shocked to see the two together.

"Looks like it wasn't just a rumour," Gabriella said, a cruel smirk on her face that Troy disliked immensely. "I mean, I had no idea when I saw that photograph, that it could actually be true. That would explain why we didn't work out, though."

"We didn't work out because you're a bitch, Gabi," Troy retorted, angrily. "You were the one who started that rumour in the first place. And you were the one who broke up with me without a good reason, and then decided to hurt me as well by trying to destroy the friendship between Ryan and me."

"Oh, I think you did that all by yourself, Bolton," Gabriella countered. "I wasn't the one that told everybody that you wouldn't touch that fag at all, that you weren't a fucking queer."

"I didn't say that!" Troy shouted, more panicked than angry. His newfound friendship with Ryan was still tenuous, and Troy was scared that Ryan would leave if he thought that Troy had said that. Troy waited, scared to hear what Ryan would have to say about that, because he knew that Ryan wasn't going to remain silent. When the boy did talk, however, Troy was surprised.

"I heard that that was what Jason Cross did," Ryan said, his voice even and measured. "That was the rumour _he_ was passing that morning." Ryan looked straight into Troy's eyes. "But you're not Jason Cross, are you? And I'd guess that since it seems like you're not talking to him anymore, he's no longer a friend? From being homophobic, I'd guess?" Troy could only nod dumbly. "So I don't see what your point is, Gabriella," Ryan continued, turning his focus back on Gabi, who was looking rather shocked at Ryan's calm response. "However," and here Ryan's voice grew more pointed, "I'd suggest leaving the two of us alone from now on, or we can make the topic of conversation something a little more personal. Say, the doctor's visit you made last Thursday. Would you like to talk about that?" Gabriella shook her head violently, her eyes wide with shock and… fear? "In that case, go away." And before Troy's eyes, Gabriella almost seemed to vanish, she was leaving so fast.

Troy was wide-mouthed, not believing what he had just seen. "How did you do that, Ryan? That was… amazing!"

Ryan shrugged. "I told you before, I'm an Evans. We're not quite like superheroes, but we've still got super powers. And one of them is digging up dirt on people like her." Ryan actually smirked. "Sharpay called up the family investigator the day Gabi showed that photo around, hoping to find something juicy. As soon as she found out, she told me everything. We've been sitting on it since then, just waiting to do what I just did to her."

Troy looked torn. "I don't suppose you could let me in on it," Troy asked, hesitantly.

Ryan once again considered Troy's statement. Troy had noticed that the boy rarely, if ever, made a comment without thinking it over. "I don't think so, Troy," Ryan said, shaking his head. "I know what it is, but I honestly wish I didn't. I'm not the same as Sharpay; she would've made fliers and posters about it if I'd let her. Gabriella has made her choices in life. Not necessarily good ones, either. Personally, I'm happy she broke up with you, Troy," Ryan said, plainly. "She would've dragged you down with her, too. If she'd tried that, I would've done everything I could to stop that. Barring that, though, I think she has enough on her plate without the entire school knowing about it."

Troy looked at Ryan, surprised and impressed. "I won't ask again," Troy said. "For a while, at least. And thanks for not holding what Jason said against me; I know it wasn't me that said it, but it was because of me." Troy looked down at the ground.

"Troy," Ryan said, firmly. Troy glanced back up at his friend. "This is your second chance. You said you cared, and that you wanted a chance to prove it; here it is. And part of that, for me, is giving you a clean slate. I wouldn't say that you deserve another chance, and then still hold all of that shit against you." Ryan shook his head. "I'm not Sharpay, who has expressed repeatedly how bad of an idea it is for me to ever speak to you again."

"I wasn't sure I deserved another chance," Troy said, his voice hoarse. Why was his throat suddenly catching?

"I did," Ryan said, simply. He stopped walking suddenly, standing at a classroom door. "Well, this is my home room."

"What?" Troy asked, not processing things for a second. "You mean, we were walking you to class? I wasn't even paying attention to where we were going!"

"I could tell," Ryan said, a smirk almost buried in his calm features. "But I thought that you people didn't want me walking by myself, that it wasn't safe. Figured you'd prefer to walk me to class, instead."

"It… I mean… yeah," Troy stumbled. "If you want, we could do this every morning; I don't mind." Hope had crept up in his voice.

"One day at a time, Troy," was Ryan's rather noncommittal response. Ryan relented, however, upon seeing the rather hurt puppy dog look that Troy was now sporting. "I know you want things to go back to the way they were before," Ryan started, "and maybe I do too, but it's not that easy, Troy." Ryan shook his head. "You hurt me, and for no discernible reason, as far as you can say. That's not something I can just get over quickly." Sighing, Ryan continued. "Sometimes, like this morning, I can pretend that everything's all right, like we're just tight friends, and that nothing happened. But you'll say something, or something will happen, and then I'll remember how I felt that morning, when I felt like life itself had sucker punched me. It makes it hard for me to be around you, then."

As Troy stood there, mouth agape, a facial expression he was finding himself using more and more as he spent more time around the male Evans twin, Ryan used the silence to enter his homeroom. Shaking his head, Troy started walking back the way he had come, since he had left his stuff back at the lockers. 'What to do, now?' Troy asked himself as he made his way through the increasingly busy school corridors. On the better side of things, Ryan had actually granted Troy another go at things, a chance to prove himself. Barring a no-holds-barred bare knuckles fight with the football jocks to end their threats, though, Troy couldn't think of any other grand gestures that could win Ryan's heart… er, friendship. Troy firmly told himself not to even think that way while their friendship was still up in the air. After all, he wasn't even sure if he wanted to think that way, period. Because another part of Troy was actually thinking about letting Ryan go. The train of thought was that Ryan made Troy think non-hetero thoughts, therefore Ryan must be avoided at all costs. Same part that made Troy wig out that night? Perhaps.

Too bad that idea was being completely outnumbered by the rest of Troy; he found himself scared at the possibility of not having Ryan around.

Just then, Troy realized he wasn't actually walking alone anymore; Kelsi had joined him and was walking alongside him.

"Well, looks like somebody finally noticed me," Kelsi said, a tone of mock hurt in her voice but Troy could tell by her expression that she was joking.

"Yeah, sorry, Kelsi," Troy immediately apologized, but she waved him off.

"It's ok, Troy, you had that usual look on your face; that look of deep contemplation. I'm guessing Ryan, again?" Kelsi gently smiled at Troy. "Ryan called me last night, after you left. Besides you, I'm the only real friend Ryan has," Kelsi added, sadly. "Apparently Sharpay's being stubborn about all of this."

"Stubborn?" Troy shook his head, ruefully. "She believes that I'm going to hurt her brother, no matter how much I try to prove otherwise." He barked out a laugh. "Last night she even accused me of leading Ryan on by acting gay." The words were out of Troy's mouth before he'd realized what he'd verbalized.

To his surprise, however, Kelsi only nodded. "I'm surprised it took Sharpay this long to pick up on that- she's usually pretty good at catching things like that," Kelsi said, her tone still friendly. "Though you and I both know it's not an act. Or are you still denying it?" Kelsi asked, her eyebrow arched.

"I do know," Troy confessed, his shoulders slumping. "I finally figured it out this morning. And I don't know what to do." Troy looked around the hallway, as if suspicious of schoolmates listening in on their conversation. "Do you mind if we talk about this in private?" Troy asked. "We've still got enough time before the bell, and nobody really knows about the rooftop garden, besides the Science Club."

"It's a good idea, Troy," Kelsi agreed, immediately. "Nobody else needs to hear any of this." The two made their way to their intended destination in silence; there didn't seem any point to making weak conversation just to fill the gaps until they reached the roof.

"So, how long have you had it figured out?" Troy asked when they finally reached the scenic location.

Kelsi shrugged. "Couple months, maybe."

Troy's eyes almost bugged out of their sockets. "A couple months?! What do you mean by that?"

"Troy, it took you three years before you even noticed I was alive," Kelsi said, quietly. "Everybody sees me as this quiet, short girl who plays piano for the school musicales. Well, the few people who noticed me, anyway. When you don't interact with a lot of people, you tend to spend a lot of time observing. So I notice things. Things that few others notice. And so I saw how you acted around Ryan, how you treated him. You've always treated him differently than Chad or the rest of your friends."

"What do you mean?" Troy asked, surprised at Kelsi's answer.

"If Chad or Zeke asked you to hang out, you'd consider it for a while, and then you'd usually say yes. If they offered their opinion or advice to you, you might take it, you might not." Kelsi smiled. "Ryan, on the other hand. If he called you up asking you to hang out with him, you'd barely give him enough time to finish the question before you'd say yes. I've also noticed that you do tend to treat Ryan's advice more seriously than Chad's. Also," and here Kelsi's smile turned impish, "I'll bet you've never watched Chad's ass as much as you've watched Ryan's. Especially when he was playing Dance Dance Revolution."

Troy flushed red. "I was that obvious?" Troy managed to say. Even the possibility that he could be so easily read scared him.

"I told you, Troy, I'm an excellent observer," Kelsi said. "It doesn't matter anyway, though, because you aren't going to do anything about it. I know you well enough to know that much."

"Stop that, Kelsi," Troy growled. "Quit being so wickedly accurate at reading me. It's disturbing."

"Because I'm right?" Kelsi asked, knowingly. "Face it, Troy. You were scared that morning when the school thought you were gay because of the picture. I'm sure realizing your crush on Ryan Evans scares you just as much. Therefore, you're going to ignore your feelings about Ryan. Probably pull back from him a little, too. After all, if you spend too much time around him, he might tempt you. Soon after that, he'll start to realize how tense you are around him, and he'll pull back too, or just write you off completely. Either way, your friendship will self-destruct once again, and then you can go back to wallowing over not having anybody in your life that actually gets you." Kelsi shrugged. "Perhaps it's for the best, too. Ryan needs somebody who is comfortable with themselves, not some sheep who just follows the crowd and public opinion."

"You think you know me that well, Kelsi?" Troy asked, his voice almost calm. "You think you've got me pegged? You're wrong; you don't know anything about me. Yeah, I was scared that morning, because I was afraid that I was gay, and that the school knew it too. But then I realized that I didn't care what the school thought, or what other people thought. I care about what Ryan thinks of me, though, and I made a promise to him, and I'm not going to break it." Troy shook his head. "And part of that is being honest with him, so if it comes out that I like him, so be it."

Then Troy pointed his finger accusingly at Kelsi. "And don't you ever dare say that I just follow the crowd, especially after everything I've done just this week alone, to fight the crowd, and stand up for what I believe in. Comfortable with myself? I'm only eighteen years old, Kelsi- who even knows exactly who they are at that age? All I know is that I like Ryan, definitely as a friend, and definitely as more than a friend. I know that I'll do everything I can to help him, and to protect him. I may like girls, but I like Ryan too, and, well, right now I don't think any random girl I go out with would understand me as well as Ryan does."

Troy went silent, as he breathed heavily, surprised at his outburst. He was just so tired of Kelsi, of Sharpay, of Chad, even of Ryan telling him what he believed in, what he should do, what he shouldn't do. Tired of Sharpay never giving him the benefit of the doubt, of Ryan at times treating him like a complete stranger, despite what Troy was trying to do. And Kelsi! Troy never would've expected Kelsi to say the cruel things she'd said, to prejudge Troy so much. Well, he'd told her, hadn't he? He'd told her how much a follower he wasn't, that he could date Ryan if he wanted to, that… oh, crap. Once again, Troy had spoken without thinking, and now he'd spilled to Kelsi what he felt for Ryan. And he'd actually admitted to himself just how much Ryan meant to him. In both the platonic and romantic ways.

"Sorry I provoked you like that, Troy," Kelsi said quietly, looking rather guilty. "I wanted to force you to admit how much you really liked Ryan. It's just… Ryan is probably my best friend, right now. I mean, don't get me wrong, you guys are my friends- you, Chad, Zeke, Taylor. But how often do we hang out? When Jason and I were still together, before we drifted apart, we were invited as a couple to things. But afterwards, you kept hanging out with Jason, and I was just forgotten about." Troy tried to protest, but Kelsi waved him to silence. "It's ok, Troy, I'm fine. I don't think we've ever had much in common, and I'm really not into basketball." Kelsi shrugged. "But Ryan and I, once he got out from under Sharpay's shadow… we just clicked. He honestly cares about what I think, and he shares pretty much everything with me."

Kelsi smiled, before continuing. "The one thing he never actually told me, until after that party, was that he was gay. I always knew, and he knew that I knew, but for some reason he never came out and said it. But then he called me up, on Saturday morning, telling me about how he'd actually broken down and told you, and that you were cool with it. I could hear the excitement in his voice, how he was so thrilled to have a male friend who understood him completely." Kelsi shrugged. "I know he appreciates me, too, but it's not the same for him. Ryan prides himself on the fact that he's a distinctive person, that he's his own man, at least after this summer, but I think that sometimes he just wants to be one of the guys. That, Troy Bolton, was what you represented to him. You gave him that, and then two days later, made it pretty much impossible for him." Kelsi sighed. "That, Troy, is why it's going to take you a while to rebuild your friendship with Ryan. And no offence, but your crush is only going to complicate things, Troy. That part, I wasn't just saying to push you. Sooner or later, the two of you will get close enough that you might give into your temptation, and I honestly don't know if Ryan would reciprocate. You might just fuck things up for good."

"Well, what do you suggest I do, Kelsi," Troy asked, frustrated. "First you force me to admit that I actually really feel something for him. That I care about him, greatly, and definitely as more than just a friend. Then you tell me that it might fuck things up, too? What the hell do you want me to do?"

"You already know the answer, Troy," Kelsi said, simply. "Be honest with yourself, and honest with Ryan. That's the only way you're gonna solve any of it. It won't be easy, and I'm not sure if it'll work, really, but it's the only way. It's your trustworthiness that's in doubt, and if you lie to Ryan and he figures out that you lied, that's the end of your second chance, right there."

"I don't know what to do," Troy said, almost inaudibly, "but I do know that I'm not going to waste my chance. I'm going to make it count, and perhaps one of these days, I'll be able to tell Ryan how I feel. I hope."

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So, funny thing, when I was writing this, I read over a certain part quite a number of times, and it was only my spell checker that caught my funny little gaffe… When Ryan is talking about his tall, skinny basketball bodyguard, the aforementioned Garza that I wondered about in an earlier A/N, I misspelled it as 'boyguard.' It seems awful appropriate, innit?

So, you know the drill by now.. Read, and please review!! I get enough reviews, I get motivated, I post chapters earlier! Next chapter is scheduled for next Tuesday. Will it come out before that, though? You tell me!

Squall Thrawn


	9. What Can't We Face If We're Together?

A/N: So, another chapter for your reading pleasure! This was a tough one to get out, just because of time issues and such. And this next one could be tougher yet, due to the holidays. But we'll see… I have a day off in there somewhere… I could get a fair amount of writing done, especially since a good portion of the next chapter is planned out. The large amount of reviews made me happy, too!! Keep 'em coming!

Also, kudos to those who caught my reference in the last chapter's a/n. J.K. Rowling stated for quite a few years that the last word of the last HP book would be "scar." Instead, it ended with "all was well." something like that, at least. Sorry, that's not how my story's gonna end. Well, with that phrase, at least. But will it end up happy? We'll just have to see about that!

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

qpqpqpqp

Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 9 - What Can't We Face If We're Together?

"So, what've you got planned for this weekend, Troy?" Zeke asked as he, Troy, and Chad were walking towards the cafeteria. It was a bright Friday just a little before noon, and a rather nice spring day with just the slightest hint of a breeze.

"Dunno," Troy replied, shrugging. "I don't have anything planned. Wish I did, though; all I've got to look forward to right now, is homework. Lots and lots of homework."

"Have you… spoken to Evans today?" Chad asked, a little hesitantly. A little over a week had passed since Troy had finally admitted to his feelings for Ryan, and little had changed since then, as well. Troy saw the blonde in history class each day, but other than that, it was anybody's guess. Ryan had avoided Troy the Friday after their talk, or just perhaps didn't make an effort to run into him. The Monday after, though, he'd passed by Troy's locker and had actually stopped to talk for a while. Things went fine for a while, Troy even managing to get Ryan to smile. Things were still somewhat uncomfortable between the two, however. Ryan's smile seemed a little forced, as if he was trying to make conversation even if he felt rather uncomfortable about it. As a result, the conversation quickly dropped to a complete standstill and Ryan used a conveniently passing-by Kelsi as an excuse to escape.

Tuesday and Wednesday, the two didn't make conversation, but Troy always had a smile for the other boy when they passed each other in the corridors. Thursday had been the best day, though- Ryan had actually waited for Troy after history class and the two had made their way together towards Ryan's locker. (Which was sporting a new coat of light grey paint.) Troy had beaten a hasty retreat, however, after spotting Sharpay standing there, removing things from her own locker. Ryan's expression showed that he understood all too well, and had wished Troy a good evening.

Naturally frustrated, Troy had turned to the one person he was talking to more than he ever had before- Kelsi. Even when they weren't talking about the situation between Troy and Ryan, Troy still found the brown-haired composer a joy to talk to. She was smart, definitely, but unlike Taylor and Gabriella, Kelsi didn't make it the be-all end-all of her existence.

"Be patient, Troy," Kelsi had advised him after Thursday's events. "I told you how hard it is for Ryan to be around you, sometimes. He's trying, though. I know you want to prove yourself to him, but it's gonna have to be on his terms." Words Troy hadn't wanted to hear, but had listened to, nevertheless. He knew he needed to be patient; he just didn't want to be!

"I haven't seen him at all, today," Troy said, frowning as he answered Chad's question. "I know he needs time, but I just want my friend back. Not that my other friends aren't awesome, too," Troy added hastily as Chad arched his eyebrow.

"Don't worry about it, Chad," Zeke added, smiling. "He just means that he wants Evans back so that they can make out under the bleachers or something." Troy answered that with a look of death. "Oh, my bad, do gay couples not do that sort of thing?" Zeke said, smiling innocently. "Too hetero? Should I have said in the theatre dressing rooms or something?"

"Ha fuckin' ha, Baylor," Troy said, sounding anything but amused. However, secretly, Troy was almost happy that Chad and Zeke made gentle jokes about it. They had taken to Troy's admission of a crush on Ryan Evans extremely well, and their jokes were proof of that. Troy knew that Chad wouldn't have brought it up at all if he had been uncomfortable with it.

Just then, Chad pulled out his cell phone and answered it. Apparently he had felt it vibrate. "Danforth. Oh, fuck. Where are you? Alright, we're on our way." Chad quickly closed his cell phone. "Guys, we've got trouble back behind the library. I think it's the jocks. Zeke, can you send the text message?" As Zeke nodded and pulled out his own cell phone, Chad motioned for the two boys to follow him. Chad wasn't quite running, but was still going at quite a good clip. Zeke struggled to keep up for a while, as he was texting as well as running, but he soon finished and caught up with them.

"Chad, what the fuck is going on?" Troy demanded. "What kind of trouble? What's going on here?!"

"It's Ryan, and he's in trouble," Chad explained, not slowing down at all. "Since Ryan vetoed the bodyguard idea, we instead came up with a system for this. Anybody who volunteered to help out watches Evans, and makes sure he's never alone. We've gotta be stealthy about this, or he'll catch us. We all keep our cell phones with us at all times, but on vibrate."

"You guys are spying on Ryan?" Troy asked, actually a little angry. "If he finds out that you are, when I told him that I promised that we'd leave him alone, he'll think I went back on my word. Chad, how could you do this to me?"

"This isn't about the two of you," Chad said, bluntly. "It's about protecting Evans. I know that the jocks are pissed off that Ryan came back, and that you keep fucking with them. I couldn't take the chance."

"So what was your plan?" Troy asked, starting to pant as they took a staircase three stairs at a time. Troy was wondering what it would look like to the casual observer if they spied three teenagers moving quickly through the school, looking like a scene out of a movie where the Secret Service had detected a threat to the President and were going to move him to a secure location. Wait a second; that was strange. Troy could've sworn he saw somebody else way up ahead, quickly moving in the same direction as they were headed. Then they were gone; must've been Troy's imagination.

"If Evans gets into big trouble, like more than one jock, they're supposed to call me," Chad continued explaining. They were really close to the library now; ok, Troy definitely wasn't imagining seeing Taylor McKessie hurrying around the corner, now. "Or Zeke, if I don't answer. Then we call in the cavalry."

"And what does that mean… oh," Troy said, as they rounded the corner and found Ryan Evans. And the four jocks. And about a dozen or so of their fellow classmates.

"What the fuck is going on?" One of the jocks was asking, the one that Troy had figured out must have been their leader since he was the one who did most of the talking. He looked rather dumbfounded. Then he spotted Troy. "Bolton? What the hell is this supposed to be?"

Troy ignored him at first, his eyes scanning anxiously towards Ryan. The blonde looked scared and shaken, but otherwise unharmed. He looked a little shocked at the still-growing mob of students filling the hallways, as well. For a moment. Troy could see that Ryan was figuring things out, though; the boy had always been a quick study. Besides, when most of the people were members of the Chem Club, Drama Club, and the Wildcats Varsity basketball team, three organizations that had all volunteered to safeguard Ryan; it wasn't hard to put the pieces together.

"I'm here to make sure you don't do something that we would quickly make you regret," Troy answered the jock. He glanced at Chad and Zeke, and found them right behind him. Nodding his appreciation, Troy turned back to the jocks and started walking towards them. He could tell that Chad and Zeke were following him, as were maybe a half-dozen others. For a second it looked like the jocks thought that Troy was spoiling for a fight, but he passed right by them until he was standing side-by-side with Ryan. "I told you not to fuck with Ryan. He's a friend of mine, and if you have a problem with him, you have a problem with me." Troy had to fight an urge to put his arm around Ryan; showing solidarity was one thing, but Troy was serious about giving Ryan his space.

"And me," Chad immediately added. Zeke said the same thing, as did all the other students in the corridor.

"We could take you, Bolton," the main jock said, but there was a touch of nervousness too. "We could take on all of your friends, too."

"Can't you fucks count?" Troy asked, incredulously. "You four are outnumbered, here, by a fair margin. I don't even get what the point of this is, anyway. Do you honestly think you would look cool or sexy for ganging up on a single boy just because he happens to be gay?" Troy shook his head. "Would it make the girls want to fuck you, if they heard what you did? Especially to somebody as cool as Ryan Evans?"

"And what about your college scholarships?" Taylor interjected. She was in the group that had stood beside Ryan, just a little behind Chad and next to Kelsi. "I bet your respective universities would think twice about you, especially if you got suspended for the rest of the year for beating up Ryan. That's not even including the criminal charges." Taylor smirked. "I've already got the e-mails ready to be sent to your schools; just give me an excuse to send them."

"There's no proof," one of the other jocks said, but the rest of them clearly looked rather alarmed.

"I've got about twenty people here who would say differently," Chad challenged. "Especially Green here; he watched the four of you when you grabbed Ryan and brought him over here behind the library. We've got more than enough witnesses." Green was one of Troy's fellow basketball players.

Then Ryan spoke up. "Besides, did you even realize who you dealing with. You four doomed yourselves after that first day, you know. You don't fuck with an Evans and get away with it." Every word Ryan spoke was cold and precise. "From now on, I don't want to see any of you anywhere around me. Or else."

"Or else what, faggot?" the leader spat out, obviously not cowed by his words.

"Or else your lives are ruined," Ryan responded calmly. "I've found out more about your families than you probably even know yourselves. Including the family secrets that you probably don't want anybody to know about, lest they ruin your family."

"My family doesn't have any secrets like that," one of the jocks jeered.

"They do, now," Ryan replied, his voice still cold. "Money's useful like that."

Troy briefly looked at Ryan, impressed at the certainty in his voice. "So, boys, there are your choices," Troy spoke up. "You don't gain anything by continuing your homophobic acts, but you stand to lose quite a bit. So what'll it be?"

The four jocks shared a quick but urgent talk, though they weren't loud enough for Troy to catch what they said. Finally, they turned around.

"Fine, have it your way," the leader replied, his voice filled with resignation. "You ain't even worth our fuckin' time."

"What's going on, here?" called out a loud voice. A loud, adult voice. Troy turned to see none other than his own father coming up the hallway towards them. "Why aren't you kids at lunch?" Coach Bolton asked. Then as he reached the crowd, he spotted his son. "Troy? What is this?"

"Don't worry, Coach, we were just leaving," The first jock said, waving his friends to follow him. "We just had something to discuss with your son and his boyfriend." The leader smirked as he walked away, his three friends right behind him. Troy, meanwhile, had shot Chad a look of horror. Chad, for his own part, looked apprehensive as well. Troy turned to Ryan. The blonde looked vaguely uncomfortable, but offered Troy no other commiseration.

"Troy?" Coach Bolton said, quietly. "Could I speak to you a moment?" His expression was unreadable. Troy nodded, and started forward. "I think you should come too, Mr. Evans." Ryan gave a start as he heard his name.

"I'll talk to you later, Troy," Chad promised, patting his shoulder as the brown-haired boy passed him. Troy managed to smile thankfully at Chad for his support. He turned back towards Ryan, who was exchanging a few soft words with Kelsi. He and Ryan started walking side by side, as Troy's father turned around and started walking down the hallway. The rest of the impromptu crowd was now gathering around Chad, Troy could see, but then all three of them rounded the corner and Troy lost sight of them. As he followed his father, Troy couldn't help but look over at Ryan. Troy could tell that Ryan was nervous, though he wasn't sure exactly what the reason. After all, it was Troy who was about to be asked by his dad if he was gay or not. And it was Troy who wasn't actually sure how to answer.

As it turned out, they didn't have too far to walk; apparently, Jack Bolton only wanted to talk to the pair away from the rest of the students.

"Could you tell me what all of that was about?" Troy's father finally asked in a soft voice, once the three had reached an empty classroom.

"Those four football jocks thought they could beat up Ryan and get away with it," Troy stated, simply. "I wasn't… we weren't going to let that happen."

"Why did you believe they were going to attack Mr. Evans?" Coach Bolton asked. "Is it because of… what they said?"

Troy looked helplessly at Ryan. He didn't want to lie to his father, but on the other hand, he had outted Ryan to so many people and yet he didn't want to do it in front of his own father.

"Yes, Mr. Bolton," Ryan replied firmly, not making eye contact with Troy. "I am gay, and they had a problem with it." Ryan held his head up proudly as he calmly came out to Troy's father. Troy knew it had to be hard and nerve-wracking for him, but Ryan didn't waver in the least bit.

"And Troy…" his father continued, looking even more uncomfortable. Troy already knew what he was going to ask before his father finally verbalized it. "Was the other part… true as well?" Troy didn't think his father looked about to explode, but you couldn't tell, sometimes. And besides that, Troy honestly wasn't sure how to answer. He really didn't want to tell his father that he had a crush on Ryan; even if Jack Bolton took it well, Troy wasn't ready to tell Ryan yet. Troy found it morbidly amusing, that one little lie was all that separated Troy from ending this awkward encounter. All he had to do was tell his father that he wasn't gay, and that would be that. It wouldn't even really be a lie, either, since Troy sincerely believed he really wasn't gay. He just liked Ryan Evans.

Troy knew, though, that saying that would probably kill his chances of ever hooking up with Ryan, assuming he would ever get a chance at that. Not bloody likely, so far. But still, he couldn't take that risk, either. So that left the narrow interpretation of the truth.

"Ryan's just a friend of mine," Troy answered his father, his voice steady. "Just a good friend." He couldn't help but toss a hopeful smile at the blonde; Ryan's expression didn't really change, but Troy could have sworn he saw the traces of a smile on his face.

Jack Bolton looked more or less satisfied with the answer, though Troy could tell that his father had probably expected or perhaps wanted Troy to also declare he wasn't gay. 'Sorry, dad, that's not going to happen,' Troy said, silently. 'And one of these days, I may be introducing you to my new boyfriend. If he ever gives me a chance.'

"Troy, I know you were trying to protect your friend," Mr. Bolton said, "but you know the school's policy on fighting; I would've had no choice but to report you as well."

"That's why all those people were there, Coach Bolton," Ryan pointed out, calmly. "It was to make sure they didn't start fighting; even stupid football jocks would realize they were outnumbered."

"Good thinking," Coach Bolton said, approvingly. "Why don't you two boys get to lunch, now?" Troy assumed he would be hearing more about this at home. That was later, though, and Troy was still concerned with _now_ at the moment.

"Yes, sir," Troy responded, as he walked away with Ryan. They turned the corner before Troy finally spoke to Ryan. "I… shit, that made me nervous," Troy said. Nervous? Shit, Troy's heart was still in his throat.

"Why, Troy?" Ryan asked, calmly. "Everybody else knows I'm gay, why should I hide it from your father? And _you _had nothing to worry about." Ryan actually chuckled. "You probably should've been a little clearer with your father, though. Odds on, he's wondering why you just didn't tell him you weren't gay. That's how most straight guys respond." Ryan looked at Troy, actually smiling, but… were his eyes searching? Nah, it was just Troy's imagination. He looked into Ryan's eyes again, and saw only amusement.

"I guess… I just misunderstood his question," Troy managed. "I thought he was asking what we were. Which is just friends. Good friends. Right?" Troy asked, a little worried. He didn't want to be presumptuous. He knew that he still felt that way about Ryan- well, that plus more- but Troy never had a clear picture on how Ryan felt about him. Had they gotten to good friends yet?

"Yes, Troy," Ryan said, the amusement still not leaving his voice. "Good friends." Troy's eyes got even wider. Why was Ryan acting so friendly today? Not that he was complaining, but what happened to the trepidation, the awkward silences? Troy was almost expecting Rod Serling to show up to narrate this particular Twilight Zone episode.

"I suppose I should be glad that I was being spied on," Ryan continued, almost idly. "I'd been working on finding a way to be able to threaten those jocks without getting my face knocked in. Your small army of volunteers gave me that, plus Taylor's threat as well."

"I swear I didn't know they were watching you," Troy said, hurriedly, his voice almost pleading. "I told Chad to back off, since that's what you wanted me to do."

"Troy, it's ok," Ryan said, his mouth now bearing a definite smirk. "I knew it wasn't your idea; Kelsi told me as much on Tuesday. I'm fairly certain you were actually the only one out of the loop."

"Wha?" Troy managed to get out. "You… Kelsi told you that you were being shadowed?"

"No, Kelsi just told me the full details," Ryan corrected. "I knew about it last Friday, when they started doing it. Your basketball players may be good at shooting baskets, but covert ops? I'll not recommend them to the CIA." Ryan shrugged. "They were way too obvious about it, when all they had to do was act normally. I'd already promised to stick to larger groups, so all they had to do was be in that group. Instead, they stand there with an open book, and if I happened to glance over they'd hurriedly start reading the book. Pathetic."

"Why wasn't I told?" Troy asked, a little miffed. "I would've been one of the first people here if I'd have been in the loop."

"Chad doesn't want you pissed at him, is my guess," replied Ryan. "You promised me that nobody would follow, he organized people to follow me, ergo he didn't want you to been seen as breaking a promise to me."

"And as much as I've been stressing about not breaking a promise to you, I can't blame him," Troy said, shaking his head.

"Why are you stressing about it?" Ryan asked, narrowing his eyes a little. "Do you think it's that likely that you would break one, that you would need to stress about it?"

"I just don't want to hurt you again," Troy said, softly. "And though I don't think I could break a promise to you knowingly, I don't want something to happen where you thought I did."

"I'm not that judgmental, Troy," Ryan said, sighing. "Once again, wrong twin. I realized I've been going at this the wrong way, too." Ryan shook his head. "Yes, you hurt me, and yes, it's going to take a while for me to fully trust you again. That hasn't changed, and it still feels uncomfortable for me to be talking to you so much. I can't forgive you just yet. But at the same time, I promised you a chance to prove yourself. Kelsi suggested I try to put my feelings aside for a bit and stop avoiding you, and that's what I'm going to try to do."

"Do you want to go to a movie tomorrow night?" Troy blurted out. As Ryan regarded him, Troy flushed. "Sorry, stupid idea. I know I'm rushing things. I just wanted to do something this weekend, and, well, I wanted to do it with you." Troy could see probable rejection on Ryan's face, so he tried to sweeten the deal. "I'll even play DDR with you."

"I thought you didn't like the game," Ryan pointed out. "Usually I'm the only one playing and you end up watching me." Ryan's eyes suddenly narrowed, casting their intense look on Troy. Troy inwardly swore. He'd forgotten how different it was to be friends with Ryan than it was to be friends with Chad or Zeke. Ryan was very intelligent, and fairly devious too. If he'd picked up on Troy's subterfuge and then drew the inevitable conclusion…

"What's playing?" Ryan finally asked, shrugging. Troy had to stop himself from sighing audibly. He'd avoided the interrogation, or at least postponed it.

"I, uh, don't know," Troy confessed. "Hadn't gotten that far, yet." Then he brightened. "But there's gotta be something there we can both enjoy." He looked imploringly at Ryan.

Ryan was silent for a moment, a look of contemplation on his face. "Pick me up at six tomorrow night," he finally said. "With a copy of the movie listings."

Troy couldn't stop himself from smiling widely. Ryan had said yes! They were going to hang out tomorrow night! It would almost be like a date! 'Except for the fact that it won't be a date, and he still doesn't trust you,' the voice reminded him.

"I'll be there at six," Troy promised. Deciding to change the subject, Troy continued. "So, I was going to ask Chad, but you said that Kelsi told you all about Chad's plan. So do you know how everybody got there so damned fast?"

Ryan smirked again. "You really didn't enjoy being kept out of the loop, did you, Troy?" Troy glared at Ryan; he was enjoying this way too much. On second thought, maybe Troy should've just waited and asked Chad. "Kelsi told me that Chad came up with the idea, and Taylor helped him with the technical stuff. It definitely fits Danforth's penchant for stealthy plans that look like they come out of a television show or a bad movie."

"Charlie's Angels," Troy said, verifying Ryan's theory. "I believe that's what he's usually going for."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Anyway, all Chad has to do is send a text message to a certain cell phone number. Taylor rigged up the cell phone to her computer at home. It automatically relays the message to all the phones in its database. So all Chad has to do get the phone call from whomever is shadowing me, send the text message, and everybody who receives it, gets to the location as soon as possible."

Troy stared at Ryan. "That was Chad's master plan?" Troy managed. "That's really… silly. Couldn't he have just given everybody that cell phone number, so it wouldn't have had to go through him?"

Ryan shrugged. "I think he wanted to feel like the power behind it; like Charlie, if you will. So he could personally show you how he's got your back. I think it's amusing, myself. I half expected him to start showing up for school with one of those Secret Service earpieces or something."

Troy shook his head. "Man, I am definitely never relying on Chad for plans ever again." Ryan just smiled. "What about those threats you made to those jocks?" Troy asked, stopping in his tracks as he remembered Ryan's earlier words. "Were those real? Could you actually do that? Created family secrets to ruin them?" Troy suddenly looked worried. "Could you have done that to me?" Ryan's smile could've hidden anything. For that matter, Troy was certain Ryan could've given lessons to Mona Lisa herself. "Were you going to? Shit, Ryan, tell me if you were going to do that. Ryan?" The blonde just kept walking, chuckling under his breath. "Come on, Ryan, that is so not funny! You wouldn't do that, would you?"

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A/N: So, what'd ya think? I think I need to hit the hay… I've got a nice long road trip, starting in about three hours… but I was determined to get this chapter done and out, since if I can't do it now, I wasn't going to be able to finish it tomorrow either, because of the road trip.

But ya know would perk me up after home from said road trip? Reviews!! Heh…

As usual, more reviews can speed up the writing process. Otherwise, expect the chapter next Sunday. Adios!

Squall Thrawn


	10. Why Don’t We Dance a While?

A/N: So, busy, busy week! Holidays are always busy, and when you feel obligated to go to the bars the night before Turkey day… Anyway, I was totally not sure if I could finish this chapter in any sort of reasonable time… but the chapter just flowed. Do let me know what you thought of it!

Also… I keep saying that these chapters can't all be long, that some of them would be shorter. This is not one of those. Once again, I knew where I wanted to end it, I knew how I was going to get there…. It just took a while, especially when Chad decided to talk. So enjoy! And sooner or later, the chapters will go back down in size… in theory.

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

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Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 10: Why Don't We Dance a While?

"What the hell was I thinking, Chad?" Troy complained, as he and Chad lay on the grass near the basketball hoop. He and Chad had spent Saturday morning playing a little game of one-on-one on the court behind Troy's house, and were now lounging on the soft grass near the court. Zeke had pleaded prior commitments; something about a meeting with some people from a culinary school. Once he heard about Troy's playing, though, he'd kick himself for not coming along; Troy's abilities that day would've been a free meal ticket for Zeke. And as it was, Chad was going to cash it in.

Troy sighed. "Things are still sorta tense between Ryan and me, we're still trying to figure out our friendship, and then I have to go and rock the boat like that! I mean, taking him to a movie? I might as well have said, 'hey, Ryan, wanna go on a date with me?' I've got to cancel, somehow. Argh!"

"No, you don't," Chad disagreed. "If Ryan didn't want to go to the movie, he would've said so. So far, Evans hasn't hesitated to tell you if he wanted you to back off."

"Unless he's just trying to force himself to say yes, even when he doesn't want to," Troy pointed out. "He said just yesterday that he was trying to put his own feelings aside to give me a chance."

"And you'd be a fool not to use that chance to prove to him that you deserved it," Chad countered. "Sorry, Troy, but I am not going to let you cancel on Ryan."

Troy regarded his friend for a moment. "How do you feel about all this, honestly, Chad?" Troy asked, directly. "I know you've said you support me, but I know it's gotta be a shock to know that your best friend has a crush on another guy."

Chad was quiet; practically a first for the boy. "I guess I'd never really thought about it, before," he finally said, his voice low. "I guess I'd always assumed that you were completely straight, considering how much you'd talk about Gabriella, or some of the other girls you thought were cute. But when you started hanging out with Evans, I did start picking up some weird vibes from ya. Like the two of you had some sort of chemistry or something." Chad shrugged. "I didn't really give it much thought, though. I mean, you were still with Gabi, so I figured I was imagining things. Then, these last few months, I watched you and Gabriella implode, and then you started hanging out with Evans even more."

Chad chuckled. "Do you remember when a bunch of us went to the movies that one time? Zeke and Jason were monopolizing the air hockey tables, and Taylor and Gabi were… I forget where. Well, they were somewhere. You and Ryan were at the DDR machines, and Evans was dancin' up a storm. I remember that Kelsi and I were over there too, watching the both of you. You're not that good, by the way, Troy," Chad added, helpfully. "Anyway, Kelsi and I were trying to make conversation with you, and we might as well have been talking to the DDR machines. You and Evans were chatting away, about the game, about anything, as if you two were the only ones there." Chad held his hands up. "I mean, I'm not saying you were just deliberately ignoring us or anything, it's just that you were so focussed on Evans that you didn't really hear us. Ryan was the exact same way. Well, except he was focussed on you, instead of Evans. Because _he's_ Evans. And I'll always remember what Kelsi said to me after we watched the two of you for a while. She said 'those two make you feel like a third wheel sometimes, don't they? That's how they make me feel.'"

Shaking his head, Chad continued. "It's true, though. As you and Gabi started growing farther apart, you and Evans got closer, and whenever I hung out with the two of you, I did feel like a third wheel, sometimes."

Troy was stunned. "Are you saying that you figured out that I had feelings for Ryan before I did?" he asked, surprised.

"Not really," Chad replied, sheepishly. "Like I said, I always thought you were straight. But when I saw that picture of the two of you… I think maybe I finally got a little clue." His tone turned guilty. "Maybe that's why I pushed you to put the blame on Evans; I was afraid that maybe there _was_ something going on between the two of you, or maybe something was going to happen." Chad reached over and patted Troy on the shoulder. "Sorry, bud."

Troy shrugged. "I don't think any of us were thinking clearly, that morning. We all fucked up, pretty much. I can't exactly stay mad at you for that." Troy smiled. "Besides, you've already shown me that you're a good friend. It's water under the bridge, dude."

"Thanks, Troy," Chad said, relief in his voice. "I guess what I was getting at, was that when I came to my senses, I realized that you having a crush on Evans wasn't so out there. And I could see that you actually care about him a lot. So, while I don't know if I could've handled it as easily if you told me you were completely gay, I think I can handle you and Evans together. As long as you don't do any nasty stuff in front of me," Chad said, warningly. "Kissing's ok, but nothing beyond that, buddy. I don't want a repeat of last December, when I found you and Gabi doing… well, you get what I'm saying, right?"

"Chad, I don't want a repeat of that day, either," Troy said, blushing crimson. "I don't think Ryan's nearly as much of an exhibitionist as Gabi was, though." Troy thought about it, for a minute. "I can't believe I didn't realize then how wild she could be."

"Well, I always thought those brainiac-type people were wound awfully tight," Chad said, grinning. "That's why Taylor and I never worked out. If I'd known that she might've done something as wild and crazy as Gabi did, though, I might've thought twice." Then Chad's grin turned positively evil. "So, you're bringing protection, right?"

"Chad!"

"Sorry, sorry," Chad apologized, not sounding at all sorry. "I just want to make sure my best friend practices safe sex."

"Keep laughing it up, Danforth," Troy said, glaring at his bushy-haired friend. "I'll remember this when you finally get a girlfriend. Or should I see if Ryan has any gay friends we could hook you up with?" Troy raised his eyebrow. "Then we can go on some fun double dates!"

"Hell… no… Bolton," Chad ground out. "You may be a pillow-kisser now, but I still like pussy. And I am not double-dating with you and Evans; my _girlfriend_- and notice I said girlfriend, not boyfriend- my girlfriend would probably gush on and on about what a cute couple you and Ryan make, and Evans would mock me for what he's called 'my lack of culture.' Thanks, but no thanks, Troy."

"I see you've put thought into this," Troy said, amusement in his tone.

"I don't put anything past you, Troy," Chad said. "After all, you convinced me to go on that double date when you were with Gabi. That was awkward enough, even with two straight couples. Double-dating with a gay couple?" Chad shuddered.

Troy laughed at Chad's statement, but sobered up as he thought about the night's events, events that would be starting in only a few hours. Jumping up, he started pacing up and down the court, nervously. "I'm still nervous about tonight," Troy confessed. "To Ryan, it's not a date, but to me, it really is. It's a first date, where we try to build the foundation of a relationship; or, in our case, we try to rebuild it. And if I fuck this one up, there's not likely to be a 'second date.' Damn!" Troy was gesticulating wildly while he was talking, and looked to be psyching himself out. "And what do I do about the end? Do we kiss? No! We're just friends, this isn't a date, and he'd hit me if I kissed him! But what if I want to kiss him?"

In the end, Chad knew there was but one thing to do: he picked up the basketball from where it was lying on the grass, and chucked it right at Troy's stomach.

"Fuck! What was that for?" Troy asked, grimacing as he hunched over, his hands clenched and holding his abdomen.

"To shut you up," Chad stated, simply. "You're freaking out about this, and over thinking it all. I don't think you've got anything to worry about." Chad looked confident. "You and Ryan have a chemistry together, and you'll see when you pick him up. From what I've seen of you two lately, and what you've told me about your exchanges since the incident, I honestly don't think anything has changed in that, either. The only time it gets weird is when Evans throws you off with his cryptic messages that really don't give you an opportunity to respond, and you've said that he usually breaks the awkward situation, himself. Just be yourself, Troy, don't hold yourself back, and be honest with yourself and with Ryan. If kissing him feels right tonight, go for it. If it doesn't feel quite right, hold off."

Troy looked at Chad, amazed. "That was… really great advice, Chad." Left unsaid was the fact that it was probably the first bit of useful advice that Chad had given him during the entire Ryan crisis. "I think I really needed to hear that." Troy then rubbed his stomach, tenderly. "I think I really _didn't_ need to have a basketball thrown in my stomach, though. I do need to eat, today, and you've got one helluva arm on you."

"That'll teach you not to freak out around me," Chad advised him. "You don't want to know what would've happened if I had Zeke here, too."

"Well, I only have one more problem about tonight," Troy said, still holding his midsection. "What the hell am I going to wear? Do I dress like I'm on a date, or like I was hanging out with you or Zeke? What if I give off the wrong impression with my outfit?"

"Troy?" Chad said, mock severely. "That was really gay." Then Chad smiled. "But I support you and your unconventional lifestyle, anyway."

"Where did you even learn that phrase?" Troy asked, sourly.

"Kelsi," Chad replied. "She gave me a list of words to say and words not to say." Chad grinned. "I'm saving the other list for a rainy day. Should be fun! Hey, isn't it supposed to storm on Sunday?" Troy rushed at Chad, intent on revenging himself on his friend. "Hey! Stop that, Bolton! Get your perverted hands off me!"

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Troy took a deep breath before he opened the door of his truck. He had pulled up in front of the Evans estate only a few minutes til six. Walking towards the front door, Troy couldn't help but remember the last time he'd been here, soaked to the bone and mud all over his pants. Trying not to lose control of his stomach and vomit all over the rhododendrons, Troy steeled himself and rang the bell. After just a moment or two, the door was opened by the same butler who had been there to witness Troy's rather pitiful state a week ago.

"Yes? Can I help you?" The butler didn't seem to be sneering as much today; then again, Troy looked a lot better tonight.

"I'm here to pick up Ryan Evans; he's expecting me," Troy replied.

"Very well. Master Ryan has been expecting you, and will be down presently. He has also requested that you wait for him in the foyer. If you'll please come in?" With that, the butler stood back and allowed Troy to enter. Yep, the butler seemed much nicer now that Troy was more properly attired. Plus, obviously being expected by Ryan would cause him to shape up his act. Troy was a guest now, not an uninvited hooligan showing up after dark.

As Troy stood there in the foyer, waiting for Ryan to appear, he gave a quick glance to the contents of the room. Troy was fairly certain that the decorative elements contained in just this room alone probably cost as much as most of the contents of Troy's entire house. The Evanes were filthy rich, and it showed. Would Ryan hold Troy's lack of weath against him if they did ever date? Troy shook his head; Sharpay definitely would have, but Troy felt that her brother wasn't that shallow.

"Well, well. Troy Bolton," said a voice coming from the top of the stairs. It was, naturally, Sharpay. Truth be told, Troy was rather expecting her, this time. After all, since she more than likely knew about the night's events, Sharpay probably couldn't resist trying to threaten Troy again.

"Well, well. Sharpay Evans," Troy responded in kind.

"I don't know how you did it, Bolton," Sharpay said, as she walked down the stairs. "Ryan usually sees through phonies right away. He's not some blind idiot like Danforth or Cross."

"Ryan is smart," Troy acknowledged. "Smarter than me, probably. But I'll thank you not to use Jason's name in connection with the rest of us; he's not a friend."

Sharpay laughed, though her voice held no humour in it. "You don't get it Troy, do you? You can tell how a person is by the company they keep. You may be pretending to not be friends with Jason Cross any more, but all four of you, Chad and Zeke included, are all cut from the same cloth. Ignorant and close-minded."

"I've always heard that you can tell a person by who his enemies are," Troy countered. "And unless you've been completely blind, you know who they are. Jason Cross is not my friend, because he wouldn't be friends with somebody who stands up for your brother. And those homophobic four jocks are definitely not my friends. So, what does that tell you about me, Sharpay? Because I know you're not completely blind. Just selectively blind. You see what you want to see, ignore what you don't want to see, and believe that everybody should just follow what you say."

"Troy, stop this farce right now, before you hurt my brother," Sharpay warned, her voice dead serious. She moved forward until she only a foot away from him. "He's talking about you more and more around the house, like he did before you betrayed him. I know you're leading him on, and I do not want to see my brother hurt, ever again. Not while I have the ability to stop it. Please, Troy, if you have a shred of decency in you, you'll leave him alone before you hurt him even worse than before."

"What's going on, here?" Ryan Evans asked. Troy turned around. Ryan was only a few feet away from the two of them, his arms crossed. Troy was momentarily speechless as he glanced over Ryan's outfit. Ryan was wearing camel-hair coloured khakis and a light-blue button-up shirt, with royal blue vertical stripes blended into it. To complete the emsemble, Ryan had chosen to wear a trilby hat that matched the light-blue in his shirt. Troy had always admired Ryan's embrace of fashions that he'd never have the guts to wear himself, as well as even having the innate ability to coordinate his clothes; even when he was trying, Troy still had problems at times. Case in point- about half of Troy's wardrobe was lying on his bed, the result of his frenzied search for the Holy Grail of outfits, that one outfit that would be the perfect compromise between date clothes and casual hanging out clothes. Or, as it had ended up, the outfit that Troy had finally picked out after he'd reached the point of tearing out his own hair. After all, Ryan would never go for a guy with bald patches in his hair. The final result had been a pair of blue jeans coupled with a maroon button-up. No hat, of course.

Sharpay's demeanor had changed dramatically upon hearing Ryan's voice. Turning towards him with a fake smile on her face, she replied "I'm just making sure Troy here's not going to have a relapse and leave you at the theatre."

"Your concern is noted," Ryan said, his voice expressionless. He turned towards Troy. "I'm ready to go. Unless you'd prefer to continue your conversation with my sister?"

"Oh, I'm sure we can pick this up some other time," Troy said, forcing himself to sound calm and unconcerned. "It isn't anything of any particular importance."

Troy could tell Ryan was amused by his comment, though his facial expression didn't change so much as a hair; Troy was getting a lot better at picking up on Ryan's moods through his body language and eyes. "Then let's go," Ryan said, gesturing with his hand towards the front door. As he and Troy approached it, however, the butler appeared from out of nowhere and quickly opened it for them. Troy was surprised, and impressed at the man's speed. He and Ryan walked out of the house, and before the butler had the door all the way closed Ryan had placed his hand on Troy's shoulder as they walked. Though he didn't dare look back, Troy knew for a fact that Sharpay was watching. Then the door closed, and a moment later Ryan took his hand from Troy's shoulder.

"That should give Sharpay something to fume about for tonight," Ryan observed, his mouth now showing the slightest traces of a smirk.

"Is everything between the two of you this cutthroat and competitive?" Troy asked, as he opened Ryan's door for him. "I thought the two of you were a little better."

"Oh, Troy," Ryan sighed. "Being an only child has blinded you to the dynamics and intricacies of a brother-sister relationship. Especially the dynamics between two twins who enjoy and thrive on drama." Troy quickly shut Ryan's door and hurried over to his side; he wasn't going to miss this one.

"Enlighten me then, Mr. Evans," Troy said, smiling as he began pulling out of the Evanses rather large driveway.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather learn about astrophysics?" Ryan asked, eyebrow cocked. "That might be easier to explain than my relationship with Sharpay."

"Well, let's narrow it down," Troy said quickly, trying to keep Ryan on the subject. "I've been picking up weird vibes from her lately, and I'm not sure I know where she's coming from."

"When do you?" Ryan countered, shaking his head. "As for you… you're a complicated subject, Troy." Ryan shook his head. "I'm not even sure where _I'm _at, in your case. As for Sharpay… she's afraid you'll hurt me again, and she's worried that you might _not_ hurt me again."

"Come again?" Troy asked, knowing he must've misheard that.

"Troy, you know how my sister is," Ryan said, with almost a note of pity in his voice since Troy seemed so helplessly lost. "She cares about some people, including myself. But all that is secondary to caring about herself. And in your case, you made it clear you weren't interested in Sharpay, and the two of you still don't really get along that well. The friendship we formed between the two of us was a win in my column, and Sharpay didn't like that."

"That's all it was?" Troy asked, rather hurt by the implication that Ryan had made.

"Troy, I'm explaining to you how Sharpay views the world, and you," Ryan said, exasperated. "But I'm not sure how many times I have to tell you that I'm not like Sharpay until you get it. You've never been just a triumph over my sister, to me. That's how she views it, though, and that's why she always made it difficult for us to spend more time together. Why do you think she kissed you that night? That was her last gambit, and she actually told me that I'd won." Ryan chuckled. "She said that she wasn't going to pursue you any more, that I'd won you. I told her that you weren't a prize to be won… but Zeke probably wouldn't mind being a prize. She was right beside him like five minutes later. Man, was she drunk."

"Well, then what's going on with her now?" Troy asked, still confused.

"Because of what you did to me, Sharpay considers the win erased," Ryan said, his voice a little hard as he mentioned what Troy considered his greatest regret. "She might even view herself a little ahead, now. But if we patched things up? I'm back to being on top. Sharpay doesn't take too well to that," Ryan finished.

"Thus why you put your hand on my shoulder," Troy surmised, feeling a little bummed out. He should've known there was an ulterior motive.

"Or perhaps this entire date," Ryan observed, almost idly. "Perhaps it's all just to tweak my sister." Troy gave him a really hurt look. Ryan shook his head. "Once again, not my sister, Bolton. If I didn't actually want to be here, I wouldn't be. I wouldn't pretend to accept your friendship again just to one-up Sharpay. Our friendship meant something to me, and I guess I'm hoping we can fix it. _That_, Troy, is why I'm here tonight. That, and only that. Happy that you got me to admit that?" Ryan sighed.

"I was just afraid that this didn't mean anything to you," Troy confessed. "Because this means a lot to me."

"I know it does," was Ryan's only response. There was silence in the car for a little while, as they drove along towards the movie theatre. "How did you get the bruise on your face, Troy?"

Troy flushed. "I… umm… I was roughhousing with Chad," he confessed in a low tone. "I was trying to get him back for something he said, and I caught an elbow in the jaw. We never figured out if it was his elbow or my elbow, actually."

"Smooth move, Bolton," Ryan replied, shaking his head.

"That's nothing compared to the other bruise," Troy added, grimacing.

Ryan narrowed his eyes. "And just how did you get that one? Where is it?"

"Chad lobbed a basketball at my stomach," Troy said, rubbing the aforementioned place. It still hurt. "I deserved that one, though."

"I'm not even going to ask," Ryan said, rolling his eyes. "That probably did make a fairly large bruise, though."

"Yeah, it did," Troy said, lamely. That was it for that particular conversation. Troy felt silly for even mentioning it, since it wasn't that interesting. If it'd been Chad or Zeke, Troy would've lifted up his shirt to show them. But there were so many reasons why Troy was unwilling to show Ryan Evans.

"I'm actually a little surprised you didn't use something to cover the bruise on your jaw up," Ryan said, almost idly. "You seem nervous enough about making a good impression, tonight."

"What?" Troy was now doing an excellent interpretation of a guppy, wide-eyed and mouth gaping. "What do you mean? I'm not nervous. We're just hanging out, right?"

"Yeah, you're not nervous," Ryan said, disbelief in his tone. "Troy, you're so tightly strung I could pluck you and hear music. I don't know why; I mean, I'm a little apprehensive that we could fuck this up, somehow, but that's it. You, on the other hand…" Troy couldn't explain, though; not now, possibly not ever. "You know, Troy," Ryan continued on, his voice light, "you're almost acting like somebody on a first date." At this point, Troy was having to restrain himself from freaking out and running out of the truck, never mind the fact that he was doing forty-five miles an hour down the road. Had he been that obvious? Well, it was Ryan Evans, after all. "But it's not a first date," Ryan stated, "since you yourself said we were just hanging out. So calm down, Troy."

Troy was indeed calming down, if calming down meant no longer on the verge of throwing up. It was too much, too soon. Did Ryan realize what he was doing to Troy? With his eyes on the road, Troy couldn't read Ryan's expressions as well as he usually could.

They soon reached the movie theatre, Troy having to force himself to get out of the truck, slowly. He had had no idea that being in cramped conditions with Evans could be so torturous. Ryan, on the other hand, looked none the worse for wear. 'Of course,' Troy grumped to himself. 'He wasn't the one whose stomach was doing cartwheels.'

"So, which movie do we want to see?" Ryan asked, his lips pursed as he looked up at the boards. "I'm not a big fan of horror movies, and Sharpay has dragged me along to one chick flick too many. Not that I'd expect you to pick that. Too bad there aren't any musicals."

Troy couldn't help but chuckle. He should've known Ryan would gravitate towards those. "What about that one?" Troy asked, pointing to the movie poster of the newest Hollywood blockbuster. "I hear it's entertaining."

Ryan sighed, theatrically. "It's because of people like you, that the studios continue to make rubbish like that. That one's a perfect example of the drivel that comes out of Hollywood, a mindless movie with little plot, sub-par acting, a clichéd script, and an overabundance of computer animation." He looked over at Troy's grinning, still-hopeful face. "But I guess it'll do. There doesn't seem to be anything else playing that looks even remotely good, and it's showing in forty-five minutes. Plenty of time to play DDR, buy our popcorn, and find good seats."

Troy had grinned wildly when Ryan had gone with his movie choice. He had been going to see it with Chad, but going with Ryan was way better. Troy lost his smile at the mention of DDR, though. He knew he'd promised to play it, but he wasn't going to enjoy it. It always frustrated him, and Ryan had usually just shook his head and chuckled at him. Ryan was never mean-spirited about it, luckily. Quickly stepping to the ticket window, Troy bought both of their tickets to the movie, without giving Ryan a chance to protest. When he handed Ryan's ticket to him, though, expecting an argument, Ryan took it silently, raising his eyebrow. Troy inwardly sighed. Even on an issue like this, Ryan wasn't doing the predictable thing. Troy had felt sure Ryan would insist on buying his own ticket.

Ryan was the one who changed his dollar bills for quarters to feed the DDR machine, though. Troy watched him, amused at his enthuisasm for playing DDR. That amusement quickly came to an end when it was time for Troy to join him up there. Troy put himself on Easy Mode, but was surprised when Ryan chose only Medium Mode.

"We're playing this together, Troy," Ryan responded to his unspoken question. "I don't feel the need to show off; I just want to have some fun." Troy felt a little better after his answer; at least Ryan wouldn't be making him look _quite_ as bad.

The first song Ryan selected was a familiar one, a techno remix of "We're in Heaven" that Troy had actually heard on the radio before. As Troy watched the moving arrows appear, he realized there was no way he was going to get out of making himself look completely foolish.

How right he was. Three arrows into the song, and Troy had already come close to tripping himself. Ryan's screen was more complicated than Troy's, but Ryan seemed to be moving easily to the beat. Troy persevered, though, continuing to try to hit the right parts of the DDR pad at the right time. Emphasis on try. Just then, Troy could hear laughing behind him. Figuring it really wouldn't matter if he stopped dancing for a minute, Troy turned around and saw three little kids watching him, laughing at his performance.

"Man, you suck at that, dude," one of the kids said.

"Well, I didn't ask for your fucking opinion, did I, kid?" Troy exploded, all the nervousness from before bursting out as anger. He was trying, dammit, trying his best to keep things cool and make it up to Ryan. For chrissakes, he was playing DDR, a game he sucked at, just because Ryan liked it! He didn't need a little kid taunting him. "Fuck off!"

Troy immediately felt bad when he saw the kids run off, obviously upset. He hadn't meant to cuss out the little kids. And what would Ryan think? Troy turned around, to see his blonde-haired friend regarding him, silently. Apparently the song had stopped, too. Troy hadn't even noticed.

"I… I didn't mean to go off on him like that," Troy muttered, feeling put on the spot.

Ryan was silent for a moment. "Do you want me to show you how to do it, properly?" he finally said. "You never seemed interested in learning, and obviously you never watched my feet when I played." Troy's mouth went dry at that comment. It was completely true; even when he had been claiming to be completely straight, he had watched the rest of Ryan's body, moving with the beat. And his ass.

"Could you?" Troy asked, pushing those thoughts out of his head. "I know that I'm never going to be good at it, but I don't want to look like a complete fool."

Ryan smiled. "You've come to the right person, then. If I can teach Danforth to dance, I can show you how to DDR." He leaned forward and selected the next song on the machine. "Your biggest problem is that you stand in the middle, hit the arrows, and go back to the middle. You have to stay on whatever arrow you're on, and then just move as needed."

"Ok," Troy said, adjusting his feet appropriately.

"Also, listen to the beat of the song," Ryan advised. "That'll give you an idea of when to hit the arrows. That'll stop you from hitting the arrows too soon." The song started, yet another familiar song. Troy found it oddly appropriate, too, considering the original artist. It was 'In the Navy 2000.' "One last piece of advice," Ryan said, as the arrows started appearing. "Have fun with it! If you miss a note, you miss a note. You get better with practice, but if you're not having fun, what's the point?"

Even with Ryan's advice, Troy's performance was far from flawless. He did do better, with his feet positioned correctly- Troy found it easier to find the other arrows that way. More importantly, though, Troy was having a good time- something that had never happened before while playing DDR. There was no pressure for him to do it flawless; it was just two boys having a good time. Troy smiled even wider at that thought. It was him and Ryan, having a good time. Troy looked over and grinned at Evans, who gave him an encouraging smile in return.

"Well, look who we have here," a voice said, from off to the side. Troy looked over to see Jason Cross and about three other members of the Wildcats basketball team.

"Cross," Troy acknowledged, stepping down from the DDR machine. Ryan did the same, standing next to Troy.

"You look like you're having fun," Jason said, a neutral look on his face. Then an evil smirk crossed his face. "Are you two on a date?"

"We're here as friends, hanging out," Ryan replied. "Though it's none of your business, Cross."

Jason smiled. "You know, Evans, before that day in the shower rooms, Troy wouldn't shut up about you. Ryan this, Ryan that. I'd say Troy has a major crush on you, Evans. Has he mentioned that to you, yet?"

Troy's face turned white as a sheet.

qpqpqpqp

So, what do you think Troy's gonna say? Is he going to tell the truth? Or is he going to lie to Ryan? What do you think he should do?

Sorry for the overabundance of DDR in here; It just seems like a game that Ryan would really get into. Both songs are from DDRMax2. The first by DJ Sammy, the second by Captain Jack, based on the Village People song.

I will confess, though, the confrontation with the little kids… that's based on real life. I was on a first date with a guy named Trevor. Movie and DDR, we decided. I told him I liked the game; I had just forgotten the fact that I really wasn't any good at it. And I did have little kids laughing at me, so I did tell them to fuck off. I felt really stupid, though, I mean, first impressions are me cussing out little kids? My excuse is that it was a first date, my first proper date with a guy, and I was damned nervous. The DDR lessons didn't occur til later, but Trevor was indeed the one who taught me how to dance better, and got me hooked on the game.

I found it hard to describe Ryan's shirt, though I know precisely what it looks like, since I own it. It looks like the shirt he wore when he and Sharpay found out about the callbacks and when they were in the lunch room. Except instead of dark royal blue with some black stripes, It's a light blue with some royal blue stripes.

Plz review! It was a busy week for me, but I did my best, and got the chapter out!

Squall


	11. I Will Wait Until That Moment You Decide

A/N: The bulk of my notes will occur after the chapter, so this'll be short. This is the chapter we've all been waiting for, and the chapter I've found the hardest to write. I've got about two pages of used material, from parts that wouldn't work, or if I didn't like how the character came off.

Also, I have to mention it… most reviews for a single chapter!!! So happy!

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

qpqpqpqp

Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 11: I Will Wait Until That Moment You Decide

Troy knew he needed to do something immediately, be it fighting Jason Cross or just laying down and dying. Or his faithful standby, fighting the urge to vomit. Instead, he found himself dumbly standing there beside the DDR machine and Ryan Evans, his face pale and his expression one of panic. All Troy could manage to do was look over at Ryan, afraid to see revulsion in his face, or even disappointment. He was never sure what to expect with Ryan, even when it had to do with mundane details such as who bought the movie tickets. And when it involved a crush from a supposedly straight boy who had completely outted him at school? All bets were off.

Troy could tell that Ryan was surprised at Jason's statement, though only his eyes betrayed his shock. To everybody else, though, Ryan Evans looked merely bored, as if Jason had just told him that the sun was setting in the west. He must've been able to pick up on Troy's mental distress, though, because he immediately filled in the silence with his typical Evans flair.

"You know, Troy," Ryan said, his tone even and unaffected. He could've been making idle conversation. "What is with you and these former friends of yours? They seem to think that because you gave them the time of day, once upon a time, they seem to believe they have a right to an opinion on your personal life." He looked at Jason as if looking at an rather uninteresting specimen in a laboratory. "Last I heard, Cross, you ran away from some football jocks, and abandoned your friends. I guess friends mean very little to you. Either way, I'd say this shows how much you don't really know about Troy and any crush he may or may not have. Which, I will reiterate, would be none of your business." Ryan briefly looked over at Troy, without making eye contact. Troy inwardly winced. That wasn't good, at all. "I'm leaving, though, so if you and Troy want to battle it out now, whatever. I'll be at the concession stand, Troy." Tilting his head back haughtily, a move Troy had seen Sharpay perform as well, Ryan walked off, with nary a backward glance.

With Ryan's departure, Troy felt ashamed, and guilty. Though he wasn't sure, Troy had a pretty good idea that Ryan wasn't taking to this new revelation well, and he held himself completely responsible. If only he'd been upfront with Ryan from the beginning. 'But then he would've rejected you,' his inner voice said. 'Just like he's going to reject you now.'

Troy glared at the other Wildcats who had taken Jason's side. "Get lost," Troy growled. And get lost they did; apparently, being team captain for two years still counted for something. Until finally Troy was left alone with the boy he had once considered a friend.

"What the fuck happened, Jason?" Troy asked, anger in his voice. "How did me standing up for Ryan offend you so much? Where did this fucking come from, man?"

"Where did this come from, Troy?" Jason bit out, angrily. "This, Troy, came from months of having to put up with your faggotty shit."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Troy asked, fairly confused.

"Ever since last summer, when you befriended that queer Evans, you've changed, Troy. As soon as you got to know him, you started hanging out with him more and more. And we, your real friends, saw you less and less." Jason shook his head. "I figured that guy was gay, immediately, but I didn't know he was going to try to seduce you. They get in your head, you know. They fuck up your brain, till you can't think right. I knew there was going to be trouble when you let Gabi go and started spending even more time with Evans."

"I didn't let her go; Gabriella broke up with me because she was a bitch," Troy countered. "Ryan had nothing to do with that, and I hung out with him because he was a great guy. He's intelligent and witty, and he lets me be myself. I don't have to be the Playmaker around him… all I have to be is Troy."

"You felt bad when we outted him, didn't you?" Jason said, instead of responding. "You immediately realized what you'd done and felt guilty. And you've spent a lot of time making up for that, haven't you?"

"Maybe," Troy begrudged him, not willing to confirm things too much.

"Would you have done the same for me?" Jason asked, simply. "Oh, wait, you had the chance, and didn't. When you were estranged from Evans, you wasted no time in trying to make up for it. But when the two of us- who have been friends for so much longer- encountered problems, you made no effort whatsoever. Where was Troy, everybody's best friend, then?"

Troy looked at his friend, unable to believe what he was hearing. "I can't believe you're actually comparing yourself to Ryan Evans," Troy said, the disbelief clearly evident in his voice. "You're right, I hurt him, and I had a responsibility to our friendship to mend that rift. _Because_ I was the one who caused the rift. In our case, though? That would've been your doing, Cross. I stood on principles, and asked my friends to back me up. You ran off, abandoning me completely. And you've made it clear since then that you don't approve of me continuing my friendship with Ryan." Troy shook his head. "You know what, Cross? That's fine. Think whatever you want. Any opinion you may have of me or Ryan isn't worth anything to me. But don't mess with Ryan at all, or I'll make you regret that, Cross."

Troy turned around as if to walk away, but suddenly whipped back around and grabbed Jason's collar and slammed the other boy to the wall. "I know you're probably thinking that I wouldn't hurt you because we used to be friends, aren't you? You're dead wrong about that. I meant what I said. Ryan is a better friend and person than you, Cross, and if I hear you're fucking with him, I'm going to pound your face in."

Without a further word, Troy released the black-haired boy from his grasp and walked away, already putting his former friend out of his thoughts. It was time to see what damage had been done. Truth be told, Troy was actually eager to meet back up with his blonde-haired friend, yet apprehensive about Ryan's reaction. What if Ryan rejected him? Or, as Troy thought more likely, what would happen _when_ Ryan rejected him?

As Troy made his way to the concession stand, he spotted Evans immediately; after all, how many other people were sporting light-blue trilby hats? Ryan definitely stood out in a crowd. He was standing off to the side, talking on his cell phone. Troy could see two drinks and one large tub of popcorn sitting on a nearby counter. Troy approached him, a tentative smile on his face.

"Yeah, I'll be standing outside," Ryan was saying into his cell phone. "Thanks, Kelsi. See you soon." Ryan clicked off his cell phone.

"What was that about?" Troy asked, a little hurt. "Are you leaving?"

"I'll pay for the ticket you bought for me, and the food and drinks are all yours," Ryan said, not making eye contact with Troy. "Sorry for ruining your Saturday movie night. Unless you can hurry up and call Chad or Zeke. Maybe it won't be a complete waste, then."

"I don't want to watch the movie with Chad or Zeke," Troy said. "I wanted to watch it with you." Troy hung his head. "I guess I can understand you not wanting to watch it with me, though."

"Troy…" Ryan sighed. "I don't know… I was ready to mend our friendship; you've been nothing but patient and caring towards me these past two weeks, even when I bailed on you for no particular reason. But…," and here Ryan's voice dropped down to a whisper. "I don't know if I can handle you having…" Ryan couldn't finish his sentence.

"Do you think it's been easy for me?" Troy asked, his voice cracking. "I've been going crazy these last few weeks, trying to figure out what the hell was going on with me. It was because I didn't want to hurt you that I didn't tell you. Not this soon."

"Was this… was this the reason why you got so drunk that night?" Ryan asked, softly. "Was it because of me?"

"Oh, God, no, Ryan," Troy replied, shocked. "It was me. You said you wished you had a boyfriend like me, and I freaked out when I realized that part of me wished that you had _me_ as a boyfriend." Troy hung his head. "I don't understand it, Ryan, not at all. I don't know why I feel like I do, and nobody else understands. And I wasn't going to burden you with _my_ anxieties when I was already causing you enough of your own."

"I actually suspected," Ryan confessed. "What happened tonight cinched it for me, but it's been coming together for me for a while, now. I guess I was even sort of hoping it wasn't true, because now I honestly don't know where this puts us, Troy. I'm not sure I can deal with all of this right now."

"I don't know where we are, either, Ryan," Troy said, sadly. "I just know that I definitely care about you, as a friend. And if that's all we can ever be, I can be happy with that. I'd rather be friends than not have you in my life at all." Troy hesitated, and then added, "But I'd be lying if I didn't say that I'd rather be more than friends with you. I'm scared of what this means, for me, for us, but I still want to give it a try."

Ryan was silent for a moment, as if contemplating Troy's words. Finally, he pulled his cell phone back out, and dialled a number.

"Hi, Kelsi, it's Ryan. Listen… I don't think I'll need that ride, after all. You what? Well, I guess that was a good call, but… yeah, I'll call you later. Bye." Ryan hung up the phone, looking slightly perturbed. "Kelsi hadn't left home yet. She said she was waiting ten minutes to give you a chance to talk me out of it."

Troy offered Ryan a slight smile. "Kelsi's insightful like that."

"Too insightful, sometimes," Ryan grumbled. He considered Troy for a moment. "I'm still not sure that I'm ready to deal with this yet, Troy. I need to think about what you said." Then Ryan smiled, a surprisingly shy smile. "I'm staying for the movie, though. Maybe I'll have an answer for you when it's all over." Ryan lost his smile. "I know you probably want more than that, but it's all I've got for you right now, Troy."

"I'll take it," Troy said firmly. He was definitely disappointed that everything was still up the air, but at least Ryan wasn't leaving. That was a good sign. "Let's grab our seats, before we're forced to sit in the very front with our heads tilted at an uncomfortable angle." Ryan nodded, and Troy led the way to the theatre, carrying the popcorn while Ryan had the drinks. The theatre was just as heavily packed as Troy had feared, but it was Ryan who pointed out the two empty seats all the way at the top.

The pair were silent during the boring commercials that preceded the trailers. Troy took a sip of his Dr. Pepper, the soda that Ryan had bought for him- apparently Ryan had remembered Troy's fondness for it. He wasn't quite as sure about Ryan's choice of one huge tub of popcorn, though. Troy never bought the tub- even when going to the movies with Chad, they'd always bought separate bags. Either Ryan customarily bought the large one when he went to the movies with Sharpay, which was unlikely, given Sharpay's dislike for messy foods and mess in general, or Ryan was trying to make a point. If that was the case though, Troy wasn't getting it. Popcorn tubs were date purchases, and they weren't on a date… or were they? Troy threw a confused look at Ryan, who wasn't even looking his way. Why must all Evanses make life complicated? Especially Troy's life.

"Do I have something on my face?" Ryan asked quietly. Troy gave a start. He hadn't even realized he was still staring at the blonde.

"Sorry," Troy said, flushing. "I guess I'm trying to figure you out," he admitted, guiltily. "I'm not sure I ever will."

Ryan actually smiled at that one. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Troy," he said, almost fondly. Ok, Troy was now certain that Ryan was messing with him. He could not be this frustrating by accident. Had somebody slipped him a book on how to confuse Troy Bolton?

Troy sighed, yet again, as he put his right arm on the armrest. The left one, the one between him and Ryan, was still up. Ryan had placed the tub of popcorn right between them, so that they could both reach it. A good idea, except that that was all that separated the two boys. And nobody behind them to watch anything they'd do. 'Not that anything would happen,' Troy hastily told himself. 'Not that anything _could_ happen.'

The lights dimmed as the trailers started. Troy usually enjoyed watching them; sometimes they featured another movie that Troy wouldn't mind seeing once it came out. This time, though, Troy only had the vaguest of ideas as to what they showed. All he knew was that Ryan was sitting right next to him, his arm only inches away from Troy's own. And while part of Troy was still afraid that Ryan wasn't going to give him a chance, the rest of Troy was happy that things were out in the open, now.

It took the explosive beginning of the feature presentation for Troy to even give the screen some of his attention. Troy would be the first to admit, he enjoyed mindless entertainment. This movie was a prime example of that, as Ryan's critique had been spot on. It _was_ cheesy, with predictable plot and characters, and lots of CGI. Just the way Troy liked it. At one point, Troy glanced over at Ryan, to see if he was enjoying the movie too. Ryan immediately looked back at Troy and rolled his eyes, before smiling to take the bite out of his sarcastic look. Ryan obviously wasn't as big a fan as Troy was, but he still seemed to be having enough fun.

As the movie progressed, Troy found himself digging deeper and deeper into the popcorn tub. Ryan was eating quite a bit himself, but Troy was the one who was putting quite a dent into it. He had just reached in for another handful when everything went to hell on the movie screen. Entranced, Troy forgot what he was doing for a moment while he watched the cool special effects. It was at that point that Troy suddenly felt a soft hand brushing the one that was still in the popcorn tub. Troy's attention was immediately far away from the movie screen. All he could focus on was Ryan's soft, slightly buttery hand, and how it had just glided over his own more callused hand. The contact had been rather brief, but Troy could've sworn Ryan had lingered, just a bit. Troy looked over at Ryan, but the blonde seemed to be absorbed in the movie. If it had been anybody else, Troy would've said it was just an accident, that it didn't mean anything. But one thing Troy had learned in the last year was that Ryan _didn't_ do anything like that without a reason. Every word, every action Ryan made, was calculated and with purpose. And then Ryan glanced over at Troy. It was dark in the theatre, except for the screen, but Troy could feel Ryan's eyes on him, and he knew it had been deliberate. Ryan had definitely touched hands with Troy on purpose. Well. Two could play at that game.

The movie continued, and the rest of the theatre patrons continued to watch, unaware of the events taking place in the back row. Troy kept an eye on the screen, but his main attention was on the popcorn tub. He was waiting for Ryan to grab some more popcorn. When the blonde finally did, Troy was ready. Ryan had scarcely reached his hand into the tub when Troy reached in as well, seemingly by coincidence. Their hands brushed once again, and Troy didn't pull his out immediately like Ryan had. The contact lingered a while, before Ryan took his hand out, though he seemed to have forgotten that he had been reaching for popcorn. Troy smiled to himself. This was definitely progress; if Ryan had been opposed to that sort of contact, he would've pulled his hand out immediately. Troy took some more popcorn out just for good measure.

The movie actually was quite entertaining, as far as Troy was concerned. At times, it almost took his mind off of the boy sitting right next to him. Almost. The epic battle, the one the entire movie had been leading up to, had just started, and Troy was thrilled. This part alone was worth the cost of two movie tickets. He absentmindly reached for more popcorn, and found a hand already in there. Troy's mind immediately blanked out the entire action scene. He could feel Ryan's hand, and suddenly shivered as the blonde gently ran his fingers over Troy's. Troy lightly stroked his thumb over the soft skin he found, not wanting to push things too far. Ryan was the one who would have to make the first move, if he chose to. Ryan softly traced Troy's palm with his fingers, coming really close to actually threading his fingers through Troy's. Troy's fingers flexed slightly, as if to keep Ryan there for just a bit longer, and Ryan quickly withdrew his hand. Troy wanted to slap himself. Had he fucked up again, somehow?

He could see Ryan out of the corner of his eye, wiping his hand on one of the many napkins he had grabbed from the concession stand. Apparently the boy had something on his hand he wanted to get off. Or was he that repulsed by Troy? Troy slowly pulled his hand out of the popcorn tub, feeling dejected. Without warning, Ryan grabbed the popcorn tub and tucked it under his seat. Troy's eyes grew wider as he realized that there now absolutely nothing separating the two boys except air. And that Ryan's hand was slowly extending forward until it was at the edge of the seat, near Troy's leg. His palm was up, as if waiting for something. Hoping he wasn't misreading his cue, Troy wiped his hand off on his jeans, producing a wince from Ryan. Clothing abuse, no doubt. Ryan's hand didn't move, though, and as Troy reached to grab it, he looked over at Ryan, who was staring right at him. Troy would've given anything to see Ryan's eyes clearly right now, to figure out how he was feeling. Gently, as if Ryan was a breakable object, Troy gently placed his hand over Ryan's, and threaded his fingers through the other boy's. Ryan clenched onto them, and finally, after hours of action movie and weeks of anticipation, Troy Bolton was finally holding hands with Ryan Evans.

Troy and Ryan spent the rest of the movie with their hands clasped together, Troy not daring to move for fear of fucking things up with Ryan again, somehow. Though Troy was starting to understand that his fear was unfounded; Ryan definitely wasn't his sister, and wasn't capricious like her. Short of doing something majorly hurtful to him, Ryan seemed willing to give Troy the benefit of the doubt.

The movie finally let out, ending on a high note that was only slightly marred by the idea that the story might not be completely tied up. Obviously a setup for the nearly inevitable sequel. As it was, Troy would have to see this first one again just to figure out what the hell had happened. Troy was actually eager for the movie to end though, as the lights coming back on gave him his first chance to see Ryan clearly, and figure out how Ryan felt about things. He saw trepidation in Ryan's eyes, and yet there was something else there. Troy couldn't quite tell what it was.

"Let's talk about it after we get to the truck," Ryan said, quietly, correctly interpreting Troy's inquisitive look. "This isn't the place for it." He didn't release Troy's hand though, and the boys stood up, still linked. They were about halfway down the stairs when a rambunctious group of young kids, eager to leave the theatre, rushed forward and separated Troy rather forcefully from Ryan. Troy was forced to walk down the stairs by himself and wait off to the side for the blonde. Once the kids had passed by, Ryan was once more in front of Troy. Troy offered him a tentative smile, and offered him his slightly shaking hand. Ryan regarded Troy for a moment, noting his nervousness. Then Ryan smiled back, rather shyly, as he took Troy's hand. They walked through the entire theatre still holding hands, though Troy felt horribly exposed the entire time. Though common sense told him that it wasn't true, Troy felt like everybody was watching the two of them, laughing and pointing at the two fags. But each time Troy felt like he couldn't do it anymore, like the pressure was too much, he looked over at his companion, who was actually smiling encouragingly at Troy. Ryan knew exactly how Troy felt, and why he was doing it, and that gave Troy the strength to continue.

They finally reached Troy's truck, and Troy was forced to reluctantly release Ryan's hand so that he could open the passenger-side door for him. They were soon driving down the road, in silence.

"Head for the park," Ryan finally opened his mouth. "We need to talk, and I… don't want to go home, yet."

Troy did as requested, and they were soon parked in one of the more isolated areas of the park. Troy had discovered it when he'd made a wrong turn looking for the basketball courts, and had thought it would be perfect for their discussion. Troy shut off the engine, but left the key in the ignition. The cab of the truck was soon filled with silence.

"It's a beautiful night," Ryan said, looking up through the windshield. He spent quite a bit of time looking up at the stars, as Troy waited for him to talk. After all, Troy had no idea of what to say; he was bad at this sort of thing. "I still don't know for sure, Troy," Ryan finally said, not looking at his friend.

"You're… you're not sure?" Troy repeated, shocked. He'd felt that after all the hand holding, especially after the walk through the theatre lobby, he'd get a little more than a 'still not sure.'

"You scare me, Troy," Ryan whispered, his head coming down as his eyes looked at the floorboards.

"How do I scare you, Ryan?" Troy asked, disbelief in his voice. He reached forward to touch Ryan's shoulder, but stopped just before reaching it, for fear of it being rejected.

"Because you have the power to hurt me so much," Ryan said, his voice still soft. "You want me to return the feelings you have for me, and I'm afraid to do that. I'm afraid you'll change your mind about liking me, afraid you'll hurt me again like you did that morning. And that's never happened to me before. If anybody else had done what you did, Troy, I would've written them off, held my head up high, and kept going. I couldn't do that with you."

Troy sighed. "I know that no matter what I do, I'm not going to be able to make up for what I did," Troy admitted. "I fucked up, and I probably didn't deserve a second chance. But you gave me one, and I wanted to use it to show you that I can be a good friend. And… if you'll let me, I want to show you that I can be more than that for you. I can be your… boyfriend." Silence. Troy swallowed, and placed his hand firmly on Ryan's shoulder. Ryan looked up, surprised at the touch, but he didn't make Troy move it. "I know how you feel, somewhat. I'm scared, too. Of what this means, between the two of us, and the possible consequences if we were to be together. But I meant what I said earlier- I want to give this a try."

Ryan studied Troy's face a moment, as if to gauge the sincerity of his words. And slowly placed a trembling hand on top of Troy's study one. Troy smiled comfortingly and placed his other hand on top, holding Ryan's soft hand tenderly.

"I didn't expect this to ever happen," Ryan confessed, softly. "I told myself not to get my hopes up, that you would never be interested in me. But I remember feeling happy when Gabi broke up with you; I felt really bad about that, that I could feel so happy when you were hurting."

"Is that why you came over with the take-out Chinese and all those musicals?" Troy asked, suddenly remembering.

"Yeah, well, that's how Shar and I usually cheer ourselves up," Ryan muttered. "We usually sing along with the musicals, too."

"Sharpay eats take-out Chinese?" Troy asked, amazed.

"Tell no one," Ryan said, smirking. "If her secret gets out, she's gonna make Dad import her food directly from China." He shifted slightly in his seat, trying to get comfortable.

"Well, your effort was appreciated, anyway," Troy said, smiling at the other boy. "You were still with your ex-boyfriend then, weren't you? He broke up with you at the party, didn't he?"

Ryan nodded. "You probably didn't see him, though. He arrived after you did, and asked to speak with me immediately. Ten minutes later, I had been dumped and was looking for something strong to drink. He, needless to say, didn't stay for the party."

"What happened, then?" Troy asked. He had an idea at this point; his memories and the stories he'd heard from others had pieced together most of the night, but he wasn't going to complain when Ryan knew the complete story and chain of events.

"You happened, Troy," Ryan said simply. "You could tell I was upset, and asked me what was wrong. You wouldn't listen to me when I said it was nothing, and in the end we wound up in my room. That was when I came out to you."

"I'm sorry I couldn't remember that," Troy said, guiltily.

"It's ok, Troy," Ryan said, shifting again. "We'll just have to have that discussion again some other time. Without alcohol involved," he added, pointedly. Ryan moved, yet again. "If I'd have known we were going to be sitting in your truck for any amount of time, I'd have suggested that we take my car instead," Ryan grumbled. "Your truck is hard to get comfortable in."

"Well, there is a way to get a little more comfortable," Troy said, slowly. In response to Ryan's inquiring look, Troy decided to show him. Troy pulled a smallish lap blanket from behind the seat and manuveured himself so that he was leaning against the truck door. He tucked the blanket behind him to cushion his back slightly. Spreading his legs, Troy looked uncertainly at Ryan. "Then you lean against me. This way, we can both stretch our legs out." Troy left out the part about how he and Gabi had done it all the time when they were together.

Ryan gave Troy a piercing look, as if suspecting Troy of staging things deliberately. But then, slowly, Ryan shifted on the truck bench until his back was to Troy, and then scooted back. Just before he reached Troy, Ryan stopped abruptly, and took off his trilby. Setting it on the dashboard, Ryan sat back, his head resting on Troy's sternum. Troy gingerly wrapped his arms around Ryan's waist, afraid of a negative reaction, but Ryan merely settled in more.

"I used to lay awake at night, hoping for something like this to happen," Ryan said, his voice subdued. "Just last night alone, my mind must've played through about two dozen possible scenarios for what could happen at the movies tonight. I don't think I ever allowed myself to believe that we could ever be together, though."

"Pessimist," Troy gently chided. He was noticing how Ryan kept coming back to the idea that he could never be with Troy.

"I thought I was being realistic," Ryan countered. "Even though everything pointed to you having feelings for me, I thought that there had to be some other explanation. I couldn't afford to build my hopes up, only to have you dash them yet again."

"But here we are," Troy pointed out. "I like you a lot, Ryan, and it's not an exaggeration to say that you're the only man for me. I never imagined I'd be crushing on a guy, let alone acting on said crush." Just then a thought struck Troy. "If you never imagined anything happening between the two of us, why did you buy that tub of popcorn? You can't convince me that that was a completely innocent purchase. And why did you buy it if you thought you were going to be leaving with Kelsi?"

Troy see Ryan blush out of the corner of his eye- the angle of Troy's head in relation to where Ryan's face was, made seeing Ryan's reactions difficult. "Because I didn't want to leave," Ryan admitted. "Part of me did, but the rest of me wanted you to convince me to stay. I wanted to hear the truth from you personally, not from Cross." Troy could feel Ryan shrug his shoulders. "Can you tell me that _you_ haven't felt conflicted at all through all of this? Part of me wanted to leave, because I didn't want to deal with the idea of the guy who outted me, having a crush on me. The rest of me… was more willing to look past all that, and take a chance. And maybe, just maybe, knowing the actual reason behind your actions helped just a bit. I know how scared I was when I first started realizing I was gay. And having those feelings while having no memory to even put them into context? I would've freaked, too. So while I can't agree with what you did… I guess I can understand it, though."

"Thank you," said Troy, his voice quiet. "But no matter how much you could forgive me, I don't think I'll ever forgive myself."

"Think about it this way, Troy, it got us here," Ryan pointed out. "It seems to have worked out, so far."

"That's true," Troy acknowledged. "After everything that happened, here we are," Troy said, smiling.

"Which leads us to where will we be on Monday?" Ryan asked. "What happens when we reach school?"

"I don't know," Troy said, uncomfortably. "I don't want to lie to my friends, pretend to be something I'm not. But I don't know if I'm ready to tell my parents, yet. And my dad works at the school. He's already suspicious because of what happened Friday; he wasn't too happy when I didn't tell him I wasn't gay."

Ryan shifted one of Troy's hands encircling his waist and entwined it with one of his own. "Then don't tell them, yet," Ryan said, gently. "We can tell Kelsi, and you said that Chad and Zeke are ok with us, so we can tell them, too. Just because we don't want to hide everything completely doesn't mean we have to broadcast it or anything. As far as the rest of the school is concerned, we're close friends." Ryan smiled. "It's true, anyway. They just don't have to know about the 'more' part."

"It seems unfair to you, though," Troy protested, mildly. "I feel bad for making you stay in the closet just because your boyfriend has unresolved issues."

"Troy, you could get away with quite a lot as long as you use that word," Ryan said, fondly. "I get this little chill through my body every time you say 'boyfriend.' And I wouldn't say I'm completely out of the closet, anyway. Before two weeks ago, I wasn't out at school at all. My family knows, of course." Ryan's eyes grew wide. "Sharpay. She is going to hit the roof when she finds out about us. You remember how I told you how she didn't like the fact that she'd struck out with you while we two became friends? Well, multiply that by a thousand times, and you'll have Shar's reaction when she finds out that I'm actually _dating_ the guy she couldn't win."

"She'll probably just claim that the game was rigged because you had an unfair advantage in me being gay," Troy said, chuckling.

"Well, in point of fact, I _turned_ you gay, Troy," Ryan countered. "That's how good I am. Even the straight boys swoon when I put the moves on them." Just then, Ryan yawned impressively, covering his mouth with his free hand.

"Are you getting tired, Ryan?" Troy asked, immediately.

"A little," Ryan admitted. "I haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately. I see that changing soon, though," he added, before Troy could try to apologize again.

"I should probably get you home, then," Troy said, reluctantly. "What… Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

"Unfortunately," Ryan replied. "My parents have requested the company of Sharpay and myself for a benefit of some sort. If I can get away for a little bit, though, I might be able to call or at least text you tomorrow. If you want me to," Ryan added, hastily.

"I do," Troy reassured him. "I guess I should probably start driving now; otherwise soon I won't be able to convince myself to." Ryan slowly got off of Troy, putting his hat back on as he moved back to his own seat. Troy started his truck back up, and made his way towards the Evans Estate. It was quiet in the truck, but this time, it was actually comfortable silence. Troy didn't feel nearly as awkward around Ryan as before, even though before he'd hadn't been dating the guy. Strange; Troy had always figured that even if it was Evans, dating a guy would feel awkward to him. Troy had been happy to have been proven wrong.

Troy finally pulled up to the Evans Estate, entering the code that Ryan had given him. After a certain time, only those with the code could approach the rather luxurious residence. Troy pulled up to the door and turned off the ignition. Quickly walking around the truck Troy opened the door for Ryan.

"I guess chivalry's not completely dead," Ryan murmured to himself as he got out. Troy just smiled. They took each other's hand and made their way to the front stoop. "So, here we are," Ryan said, looking back at Troy. He chuckled. "I think I was obliged to say that."

"Oh, definitely," Troy said, smiling in relief. He was afraid the awkwardness was going to flair up, but Ryan had broken it up with some levity. "Nothing like pointing out the obvious at the end of a first date." Still holding onto one of Ryan's hands, Troy took the other one as well. They were now completely linked, facing each other. It was the point that Troy had looked forward to, yet had dreaded just as much. The kiss good night. It definitely felt right to Troy, and Ryan looked to be receptive towards it, too. So why did Troy suddenly feel weird? He stood there, looking at Ryan, at his clear, fair skin, and his pink, slightly pouty lips. Believe it or not, Ryan was going to have to make the first move, because Troy felt paralysed. Why the hesitation, after everything that had happened tonight?

Suddenly, it dawned on Troy. This was the point of no return. If he kissed Ryan, it would be his first gay kiss, and there was no coming back from that. It would be part of him for the rest of his life. Troy had spent hours deliberating it, dissecting it, and had naïvely believed he had overcome it, but the truth was, Troy was scared to take that first inexorable step.

"Don't think of it as kissing another boy," Ryan said, quietly. Troy wasn't even surprised anymore that Ryan could read him so well; the boy just seemed to have a sense of what Troy was thinking. "Just think of it as me. It's just you and me, Troy. Don't think of all the crap the world piles on us, to make us feel guilty or stigmatised. None of that matters, Troy. It's just you, and me." Ryan gently squeezed Troy's hands.

Ryan and himself. Troy tried to push everything out of his mind, and focus only on his immediate present. Here he was, standing hand in hand with a person he deeply cared about, a person who he felt comfortable being himself with.

Troy took a step forward, Ryan meeting him halfway. Now almost pressed up against each other, Troy leaned forward and gently pressed his lips upon Ryan's own pink ones. It definitely felt different than kissing Gabriella, or any other girl, for that matter. But it wasn't a bad different. Letting Ryan's hands go, Troy placed his arms on Ryan's shoulders as they continued to kiss. Their mouths were still closed, as were their eyes, but Ryan was getting a little more forceful. Troy's whole body tingled as Ryan placed his hands on Troy's hips, bringing their bodies flush against each other. Troy could feel the warmth of the other boy through his suddenly thin button-up. Ryan, Troy would rather readily admit to anybody who asked, was a damned good kisser, in Troy's opinion. Troy, without really thinking about it, opened his mouth to deepen the kiss. A moment later Troy could feel Ryan's tongue in his mouth, could feel it run against his own tongue.

Eventually, though, Troy had to break off the kiss. Certain problems were already cropping up, and Troy didn't want to make things any worse. He could tell Ryan wasn't unaffected, though; the blonde's lips looked swollen while his eyes look slightly dazed. Troy had to fight the urge to start the whole process all over again. Really, Troy mused to himself, once he'd gotten over the whole kissing another boy thing, it wasn't so big a deal. Especially if he was already considering it again.

Just then, a curtain twitched from a side window. "That'll be my sister," Ryan said, amused. "Wonder how long she was watching us."

Troy blushed. "Are you going to need me with you, to tell her?" Troy couldn't really hide the reluctance in his voice. Sharpay was the last person he wanted to deal with, right now.

"Trust me, Troy, you don't want to be here for this," Ryan said, still not looking too worried. "You get some sleep tonight, and I'll try to call you tomorrow night. Ok?"

Troy nodded. "Good night, Ryan." He smiled at the blonde.

"Night, Troy," Ryan responded. "Sleep well." Moving forward, he gave Troy a quick peck on the lips, before opening the front door. Troy watched Ryan enter the house, before he headed back towards his truck, stifling a yawn. A long day, and an even longer night, but Troy wouldn't trade it in for anything in the world.

qpqpqpqp

A/N: And so, with much rejoicing, the boys finally got on the same page and started dating. This felt like the right thing to have happen. I mean, I could've strung out the feelings and drama, but it would've felt cheapened… Don't worry, the angst and drama isn't over yet for them, but at least they're together.

I was going to address something in a review, originally, but instead I'll combine it with something I was going to say after this chapter too. Ryan acted stilted and stiff when talking to Troy because things were still somewhat tense and uncomfortable, and for his part, Troy treated Ryan a little gingerly, too. Their interactions after they finally got a clue are a throwback to the friendship that we have but seen in small glimpses. Once all the secrets are out, Ryan even forgives Troy somewhat when he realizes why Troy did what he did. I think the result would've been a much easier interaction between the two of them. Oh, and I had a steamy kiss on my first date, and there wasn't nearly the connection between us that our fictional characters have.

This chapter took me quite a bit of time and effort to write and rewrite, and it's a high point of the story. Please, tell me what you thought of it. Let's see how many we can get! Even if it's just a simple "Good job, bud!" Or which boy's movie tastes do you share? Troy's love of mindless entertainment, or Ryan's preferred movies, which would feature actually good acting, a decent plot, and not relyin solely on computer technology?

Squall Thrawn


	12. Now That We’ve Kissed What Happens Next?

A/N: So, it's nice to hear how much you liked our characters finally getting a clue. Apparently, I've actually forgotten how to write a short chapter, now. This one was designed to be one… and ended up longer than one or two of the chapters that were supposed to be long. Not sure how that happened.

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

qpqpqpqp

Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 12: Now that We've Kissed, What Happens Next?

It was definitely a day for the record books- Troy Bolton was actually eager to be at school on a Monday morning. "I bet there's even a law against it, somewhere," Troy said to himself, smiling. He didn't care, though. He was here, waiting in his truck until he could spot a glimpse of a certain Barbie Dream Car. Make no mistake, though. Troy was not eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Ice Princess herself. It was her passenger that Troy was concerned with. Ryan Evans, the Drama King of East High, the star of so many school productions Troy had lost count, and Troy's new boyfriend. Just thinking about him made Troy shiver with antici--pation.

Wait, was that it? Troy shielded his eyes against the morning sun. Yeah, it had to be. How many other people at East High drove a bright pink convertible? Troy got out of his truck as the car pulled to a stop. Troy watched for Ryan to get out of the passenger side, but the driver's side door was the only one that was opened. Sharpay got out, glanced over at Troy, and gave him a look of disgust.

"Morning, Sharpay," Troy said, nevertheless. He didn't want to talk to her, not at all, but he needed to know where Ryan was.

"Leave me alone, Bolton," Sharpay snapped. "I can't believe you… Euhhh!" Sharpay let out a growl of frustration. "He's not with me," Sharpay said, sneering. She turned on her heels and walked away, her head held high.

Troy watched her walk inside, puzzlement on his face. Surely Ryan would've told him if he wasn't going to be here, today? Despite what he'd been planning to do, Ryan had been unable to call Troy during the benefit. A few rushed text messages were all that had let Troy know that Ryan was thinking of him; apparently Sharpay was being mildly difficult. Of course, a mildly difficult Sharpay was a much bigger deal than many people were on their worst days. Troy _had_ been surprised by a phone call mere moments after he'd gotten in bed, though. Troy had been pleased to hear Ryan's voice on the line, though the boy had been unable to talk long. Surprisingly enough, despite the fact that what was going to happen when they got to school was in the forefront of their minds, they'd instead talked about meaningless little things. How their days were, what they'd eaten. Ryan had only briefly mentioned Sharpay's reaction, calling it "less than thrilled." Ryan hadn't sounded too concerned about it, though, so Troy hadn't put too much thought into it, either. Perhaps he should have.

Troy stood there for a moment, considering what to do. If Ryan wasn't going to be here, today, Troy was waiting in the parking lot for no reason whatsoever. It was just a waste of time. Troy slowly trudged towards his truck, the spring in his step gone. Troy was about to open up his truck to retrieve his school stuff when somebody honked at him. Troy looked up, scared, and found himself looking at a bright blue convertible with a smiling blonde behind the wheel.

"Good morning, Troy," Ryan said, bounding out the car. Troy saw Kelsi getting out of the passenger seat, but his attention was focussed on his hat-wearing boyfriend- it was a newsboy cap, today. That was about all Troy could make out before Ryan was right in front of him, pecking him on the cheek. "There's nobody else in the parking lot," Ryan muttered, squeezing Troy's hand, briefly. "Couldn't resist."

Troy, who had involuntarily tensed up upon feeling Ryan's lips on his cheek, forced himself to relax. "Well, if that's the case," Troy said, putting a smile on his face before leaning forward and giving Ryan a return peck.

"I didn't want to go any further," Ryan said, grinning. "Otherwise, who knows how long we'd be standing here, or who would see us?"

"Plus, as happy as I am to see you two finally getting a clue, I want to put my things away instead of just standing here watching you two suck face," Kelsi said, smiling. She walked forward and gave Troy a quick hug. "But I still want to say congratulations. Good for you."

"It's thanks to you," Troy pointed out. "If not for you, I'd be miserably unhappy and trying unsuccessfully to figure out why."

"True. Just remember that when it comes time to buy my birthday and Christmas presents," Kelsi said.

Troy turned back to his new boyfriend. "I was worried you weren't coming. I thought you always rode in with Sharpay."

"Nearly always," Ryan agreed, nodding. "Shar didn't want to be in the same car as me, though. She's, well, like I said last night, she's less than thrilled. She's rather bitter, actually."

"You don't seem that concerned, Ryan," Troy noted.

"You know how Sharpay is," Ryan said, easily. "I've literally had my whole life to get used to her and learn how to deal with her. She's bent out of shape, but it's her problem. I'll work it out with her, sooner or later." Ryan shrugged. "And I know her well enough to know she's not going to out us. She wouldn't go that far to hurt me. Especially when she'd have no guarantee that you'd leave me because of that."

"It's a nice car you've got," Troy said, choosing to change the subject since he had no idea about what to say about Sharpay. She was Ryan's sister, not his. Ryan probably knew what he was talking about. "If I had one this nice, I'd be driving it a lot more."

"I've never minded riding in with my sister," Ryan said, shrugging. "It was sort of our together time. We do our own things at home, and we never really talked about personal items at school. So we'd talk about things like that on the ride to and from school. Right now, though, she says she has nothing to say to me at the moment, and since she's Sharpay, she really wants drive it home that she doesn't have anything to say to me. Subtlety's not one of Sharpay's watch words. So I drove myself, this morning, and called Kelsi and offered to give her a ride as well. I may end up driving myself the rest of the school year, anyway." Ryan grinned devilishly at Troy. "That way I don't have to leave with Sharpay when _she's_ ready."

"Good idea," Troy approved. "You'll have to give me a ride in it, sometime."

"Can we perhaps take this inside?" Kelsi said, a tad plaintively.

"Sure," Troy said, agreeably. He grabbed his school things from his truck and locked the door. He found himself walking side by side with Ryan, rather closely. "I have to admit, it's a little weird," Troy confessed. "I'd rather be holding your hand, but it feels uncomfortable to be doing it here, at school. My dad was full of questions about Saturday night; since I was dressed up nicer than usual and I didn't tell him who I was going out with, he assumed I was going on a date. He was pressing me to tell him who 'she' was."

"Do you think he suspects?" Ryan asked, looking a little worried. "I know you're not ready to come out, yet." Ryan considered it for a moment. "He does know that I'm gay," Ryan pointed out. "And we were hanging out quite a bit around the time that Gabi broke up with you. Maybe he thinks she broke up with you when she discovered you were a poofter."

"Poofter?" Troy said, raising his eyebrows.

Ryan grinned at him. "If he does know or suspect, that's probably not good news for me," he continued. "If he knew you as Breeder Troy, and then I came along and broke apart East High's Golden Couple, he'll probably view me as a perverted home wrecker."

"But you're _my_ perverted home wrecker," Troy reminded him, putting his arm around Ryan briefly. "Let me worry about my father; you've got Sharpay to deal with, and she makes my dad look like a cake walk. Speaking of fathers, does yours know?"

"I think so," Ryan said, nodding. "Mom, too. I may not have told them directly, but Mom actually gave me the 'we love you no matter what' talk the other week after those football jocks tried to pummel me. She could tell I was hurting, both physically and emotionally, and tried to cheer me up. I couldn't tell her then, what with everything going on, but I'll tell her, soon." Ryan smiled at Troy. "She's probably going to invite you for dinner as soon as she finds out."

"I'll be there," Troy promised, immediately. "You had me at 'dinner'." He walked forward a little ways and opened the door for Ryan, who smiled at him. As the three of them made their way down the hallway, Troy felt a little uneasy. What if he was acting too obvious, and somebody figured out that he and Ryan really were together? Would it get back to his father? Troy knew how ridiculous that sounded, but couldn't help but think it. It felt like everybody's eyes were upon him, just like when they'd been at the theatre.

"What's up, Troy?" Chad called out as soon as he saw his friend. Then he saw Ryan and Kelsi accompanying him. "Hey Evans, Kelsi."

"Hey, Chad," Troy responded. "What's up?"

"Not much, " Chad shrugged. "Looks like something's up with you, though," he added, looking meaningfully at Ryan.

"Yeah," Troy said, shyly. It felt a little weird to be introducing Chad to his boyfriend, even though he knew that Chad was ok with it. Ryan looked at Troy, inquiringly, but didn't speak for him. Troy knew he had to be the one to do it. "Chad, this is Ryan Evans. My boyfriend."

Chad considered Ryan for a moment. "Good luck, Evans," Chad said. "Troy's a handful." Then he grinned and gave Ryan a one-armed hug. "That's great to hear. If my best friend turned into a shirt-lifter, at least I know I can get along with his better half."

"Chad Danforth!" Kelsi exclaimed. "That word was on your list!"

"You're right," Chad said, grinning blithely. "I've gotta say, that list is a godsend. Before you gave it to me, all I had were the overused phrases. Now I've got all sorts of new things to say to Troy!"

Kelsi looked at Ryan, afraid that he was gonna be offended at Chad's words, but he was laughing, instead. "I think we'll get along just fine, Chad," Ryan said, smirking. "We'll have to double-date with you some time." That wiped the smirk right off Chad's face. Troy expected him to tell Ryan the same thing he'd told Troy, but Chad seemed more reluctant to tell Ryan off. No doubt lingering guilty feelings because of his part in Ryan's outting.

"I'm not seeing anybody right now," Chad said, trying to get out of it, politely. He and Taylor hadn't lasted much longer than the Talent Show at Lava Springs.

"Well, I might be able to do something about that," Ryan said, thoughtfully. "Sharpay and I have done summer stock before, and I think you'd really get along with a friend of mine, Cameron. Cameron's cute, and funny. We'll have to introduce you two, some time. Maybe you'll hit it off." Ryan smiled innocently at Chad.

"That sounds cool, Ryan," Chad said, clearly afraid to piss him off. "I'm not interested in guys, though."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Cameron is a girl, Danforth," he said, shaking his head. "Trust me, Chad, I would not inflict you on any of my gay friends. I'm not that cruel."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Chad asked. Troy figured Chad probably wasn't sure whether he should feel insulted or not.

"It means that setting you up with a guy would be an exercise in futility," Ryan said. "I know you're not gay, Chad; your clothes scream that loud and clear."

"Keep it up, Evans, and I'll be picking on you as much as I do Troy," Chad warned.

"Good," Ryan said. "I wouldn't want you to hold back on my account." Then he put his winning smile back on. "But consider it, Chad. A double date, with Troy and I, and you and Cameron. I'll even pay for the meal."

"Sounds like a good plan, Chad," Troy said, encouragingly. He hadn't actually told Ryan about Chad's dislike of double dates, but Ryan had picked up on it on his own. And despite that, he might actually get Chad to go along with it.

"I'll have to think about it," Chad said, and appeared to actually mean that.

"So where's Zeke?" Troy asked, looking around.

"With Sharpay," Chad said, shrugging. He didn't seem too alarmed by this, but Ryan did. "She showed up this morning and asked to talk to him. Well," Chad amended, "she showed up and demanded that Zeke come with her. You know how Zeke is with Sharpay, so he followed her like a little puppy."

"You look worried, Ryan," Troy noted. It was true; he looked to be quite troubled.

"This should've been between siblings," Ryan said, simply. "It's me that Sharpay has a problem with. If she's pulling Zeke in, that means she might be aiming for you too, Troy. And she can actually do some damage."

"Zeke's a friend, though," Troy objected. "He wouldn't do anything to hurt me."

"Sharpay's an expert at manipulation," Ryan pointed out. "You should know that. Zeke might even think he's helping, but that's not how it'll end up." Ryan sighed. "We may have to tone it way down between the two of us, until Sharpay gets used to it."

"Or I prepare myself to tell my father," Troy interjected. "That's what she's probably aiming for, right?"

"I'm not going to force you to do that before you're ready, Troy," Ryan said, quietly.

"I don't want to tone things down, Ryan," Troy explained. "If we do that, then Sharpay- and the terrorists- win."

"Smooth, Bolton," Kelsi said, a wry grin on her face. Then she looked down at her watch. "We've only got a few more minutes til the bell rings, guys. I'll see you later, Ryan." Waving, Kelsi walked off.

"I need to get some things out of my locker," Ryan said, also beginning to move away. "I'll see you later? Check your phone around free period." With a smile, Ryan walked away.

"Man, have you got it bad, Troy," Chad said, sagely. "That dopey look on your face says it all. I take it you didn't tell Ryan that your dad's probably going to freak out?"

"He's got enough to worry about, on account of Sharpay," Troy explained, as the two began walking to homeroom. "I didn't see the need to add to it." Troy sighed. "He _is_ going to freak out, though, isn't he? He asked me on Friday, Chad, if Ryan was my boyfriend, and I told him we were just good friends. I didn't tell him I wasn't gay, though. He asked again, that night, and I told him I'd misunderstood the question… but I still didn't tell him I wasn't gay. He got pushier on Saturday night, when he figured out that I was going on a date."

"Did he actually bring up Evans?" Chad asked.

"He didn't have to," Troy sighed. "He kept pressing me to tell him about my date and what _her_ name was. It got worse on Sunday."

"What did he do?" Chad asked.

"He started asking how my date had gone. When I asked him why he was so curious, he pulled the 'I'm just a concerned parent' routine. Then he follows that up with a 'once you have kids of your own, you'll understand.' Don't you see?" Troy sighed. "He's saying loud and clear that he expects me to find a girl, marry her, and pop out some grandchildren."

"Well, if you stay with Evans, children would be a problem," Chad observed. "Unless you adopt, or something. Since Ryan has plenty of money, though, that shouldn't be a problem. Assuming he wants kids, of course."

"We haven't talked about it; we're still young, Chad!" Troy exclaimed. "I don't want to think about having kids, yet. The point is, Chad, that my dad's going to be thinking about all these important things, and all I know is that I have a thing for another guy. My dad will point out that I like girls too, and that I should go for the easier path. And part of me knows it's easier."

"Then why did you do all of this?" Chad asked, shaking his head. "If you don't want to be with him, just break up with him."

"Because I do want to be with him," Troy insisted. "It's just… really complicated, right now. I don't regret Saturday night at all, but… I guess I was so busy thinking about how to win Ryan's heart, I never stopped to think about what would happen afterwards."

"Look on the bright side, Troy," Chad said, grinning. "If your dad kicks you out, Ryan's got lots of extra rooms in that mansion of his."

"That's helpful," Troy said, dryly. "It's… I think it'll be ok. Maybe Ryan can help, though. Help me see that things could work out, or something. I know he'd want me to tell him, either way. We're not going to make it at all if we keep secrets from each other." He and Chad finally entered their home room class. As always, Jason Cross was there, but whereas Troy had previously ignored his ex-friend's presence, he instead actually looked right over at him. After what had happened Saturday, Troy didn't put it past Jason to try to fuck things up again. As soon as Jason noticed Troy watching him, he abruptly turned his head away. Not soon enough, though; as soon as they'd made eye contact, Jason had smirked. There was definitely something going on, there. The bell rang, and Troy sat down in his seat in front of Chad, looking towards the teacher. He pushed Jason and everything else to the back of his mind, but he _was_ going to get to the bottom of it.

The morning went rather slowly for Troy. His only class with Ryan was at the end of the day, but his second period class was with Sharpay. If Troy had had suspicions that Jason was plotting something, there was no doubt in his mind that Sharpay had some devious plot already cooking. The only looks she gave Troy were looks of disgust, but even those couldn't hide the fact that she was appraising Troy as well. She was clearly trying to decide how to go after him. Troy could only hope having an Evans on his side would be enough to counter her.

Finally, after Troy's third class, the bell rang for free period. Many people used this time as a study hall, or to meet with teachers or other students about projects. The Twinkle Towne musicale auditions had been held during free period, as well. Ryan had promised to text him during free period, and as Troy got his phone out his pocket to check it, it vibrated. He had just received a message from Ryan Evans. It told him to head to the auditorium. Troy smiled to himself and pocketed his cell phone. He'd already told Chad that he was probably meeting up with Ryan, so Chad had decided to find Zeke, instead, and perhaps find out what Sharpay had wanted him for. Troy had only made it halfway through the main hallway when his journey came to an abrupt halt.

"Troy!" called the unmistakeable voice of his father, Jack Bolton.

"What's up, Dad?" Troy said, forcing himself to turn around and face his father. "I was going to meet some friends." Well, one friend, actually, one boyfriend. Wrong time and place to say that, though.

"We need to talk," Coach Bolton said, his voice a little hard. "Let's go to my office."

Troy swore silently. By the time he got to his father's office in the locker room, had the talk, and got back, free period would probably be over. Troy felt really bad about standing Ryan up, but felt sure the blonde would understand.

The father and son duo walked through the halls without saying a word to each other. Troy felt a little nervous about what his father might have to say that he couldn't just wait until school was over and they were both at home.

"Sit down, son," Jack Bolton said as they finally reached his office. He closed the door behind him. "Now, listen, the last thing I want to do is dictate how you live your life, Troy, but as your father, I would hope that you respect my opinion enough that you would take my advice seriously. And consider following it."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Dad," Troy said, butterflies suddenly in his stomach. He was suddenly glad he wasn't standing any longer; Troy doubted his shaky legs would've kept him up.

"It's come to my attention," Coach Bolton began, "that you've been spending a lot of time around Ryan Evans. I know you were over at his house for quite a while the other week, and I was there when you almost had that altercation with those football players." Then he looked piercingly at Troy. "You also neglected to mention that he was the person you were going to the movies with, on Saturday night. That night you spent so much time getting ready for." Left unspoken was the fact that Troy's father had clearly assumed that it was a date. No doubt he didn't want to use the word 'date' in conjunction with Ryan Evans.

"So what?" Troy countered. "Ryan's my friend, dad. A good friend. I wouldn't even consider _not_ defending my friend against those bullies. And you know how Ryan dresses; I would've looked silly if I hadn't made somewhat of an attempt to dress nicer."

"He's gay, Troy," Coach Bolton growled out. "That's not the sort of element you need to be hanging around with. Certainly not the sort of person you should be dressing nicely for, either! Consider what people might think about the two of you! In fact, it sounds as if people are already thinking it!" Coach Bolton shook his head. "Apparently there are some rumours of a photo circulating around, and that a lot of students around school actually think you're with that… kid." Troy definitely did not like the way his father said 'kid.' It was almost the same inflection one might use when saying child murderer or pedophile. "Troy, if you ever want to make it to the NBA, you know that this could stain your whole reputation! I think you should avoid that Evans kid from now on."

"Or maybe I won't," Troy said, quietly. His father looked at him in surprise. "You are right, Dad. You _can't_ dictate how I live my life. Ryan Evans is my friend, and that's not going to change. I don't care what the rest of the school thinks of me; I'm not running my life like an opinion poll. I have to do what I think is right, and being loyal to a friend who's always been loyal to me feels right. How could you, as my father, tell me to abandon my friend, and cut and run?"

Jack Bolton suddenly looked uncomfortable. "I'm going to try to meet up with my friends, now," Troy said, standing up. Without a further word, Troy walked out of the office. His father made no effort to stop him or call him back. Troy made it around the corner of the hallway before he collapsed against the wall. His legs felt like rubber, while his stomach felt like it was in knots. Troy knew it was only a matter of time before he was forced to tell his father everything. Jack Bolton wasn't going to let up until he was sure Troy wasn't gay.

Once again, the easy way out was all too obvious to Troy; break it off. After all, two days was nothing, right? He'd apologize to Ryan, tell him it wasn't something he could handle, and make his dad happy. That was the easy way, but it was not a choice Troy was willing to consider. He'd meant what he said to Ryan that night, and he didn't intend to go back on it. Troy _was_ scared; more scared than ever, now. He still wanted to give his newfound relationship with Evans a chance.

Troy looked at his phone; another text from Ryan, wondering where Troy was. Troy grimaced, looking at the time. Only five more minutes till the end of free period, and his next class was halfway across the building. Sending a quick text message to Ryan explaining the situation and apologizing for his absence, Troy hurried towards his locker to grab his belongings.

The rest of the day dragged on as bad as Troy's other classes had, with no exception. Sharpay, who was also in Troy's fifth period class, spent a fair amount of time watching and evaluating Troy again, to his discomfort. Troy had sought Ryan out at lunch time, hoping to share with him what his father had said and to see if he'd found out anything about Sharpay's intentions, but Ryan and Sharpay hadn't been there. According to Kelsi, Ryan was trying to repair his relationship with Sharpay in hopes of halting whatever plot she had in store for Troy. Troy appreciated the thought, but doubted it would do any good.

Zeke hadn't been too much help, either. Zeke had claimed that Sharpay wasn't up to anything; indeed, he said that Ryan and Troy hadn't even really come up. Sharpay was apparently willing to give Zeke another shot, and Zeke was eager to show her she wasn't making a mistake. Troy was smart enough not to accuse Zeke of lying, but still felt there was more to the story than Zeke realized. Sharpay was a conniver, and Troy didn't think she'd just give in without a fight. Even with Ryan trying to make peace.

Seventh period finally arrived, much to Troy's delight. The one class he shared with Ryan. Troy sat there in his desk, watching the door with anticipation in his eyes. Ryan was nearly late, actually, arriving in class mere moments before the bell rang. He only had time for a quick smile at Troy as he sat down before the teacher began lecturing. For once, Troy managed to focus enough on his class to actually gain some information. After an entire day of wanting to spend time with Ryan, there he was, just a few rows over. All Troy had to do was make it through this last class.

So, needless to say, class seemed to drag on forever, according to Troy. At one point, he could've sworn he saw the clock running backwards. The bell finally rang, though, as the school day was, at last, at an end. Troy quickly gathered his belongings together and walked over to Ryan's desk, where the blonde was neatly putting his things away in his messenger bag.

"Impatient, much?" Ryan asked, eyebrow cocked. "It's not like I'm going to leave without you, Troy."

"Yeah, well," Troy said, flushing slightly. "It's just that this day's been conspiring against me. Wouldn't be surprised if something else came up."

"I'll see what I can do to prevent that," Ryan promised, finally standing up. He and Troy walked out of the room and down the hallway, towards Ryan's locker. "You don't have anywhere else to be after school, do you?"

Troy shook his head. "I think my father wants me home immediately, so that I can't spend any time with you," Troy said, sardonically. "And I see no reason not to disappoint him. I'm in no hurry to head home."

"I don't want to be the reason for a rift between your dad and you," Ryan said, frowning. "I thought the two of you were close."

"You're worth it," Troy said, simply. He didn't feel like talking about it too much while they were so obviously exposed in the hallways. "So where are we heading?"

"Auditorium," Ryan replied. "Since you stood me up during free period, you owe me." Ryan's eyes twinkled with amusement.

"It wasn't my idea," Troy protested. "My dad caught me and had a talk with me."

"Excuses, excuses," Ryan replied, teasingly.

"So why the auditorium?" Troy asked as the two approached the darkened room.

"Well, since Sharpay and I are the leading members of the Drama Club and Ms. Darbus likes us so much, we have keys to the dressing rooms," Ryan explained. "I figured it was a nice place for us to be ourselves without anybody else discovering us."

"Good thinking," Troy approved. They were quiet until they reached the dressing rooms. Ryan pulled out his key ring and unlocked the second door. As Troy entered the room, he recognized it as the room he had used during the Twinkle Town musicale.

"This is usually my dressing room," Ryan said, smiling. "Whenever I win the lead in the musical, of course. You were the one in here, last winter." Ryan closed the door behind him and locked it. "So, here we are."

"Yep," Troy said, his throat suddenly dry.

Ryan chuckled gently. "I didn't actually get you in here just so I could ravish you, Troy," Ryan said. "I don't really think we're at that point, right now. But here, we don't have to play the roles we're forced to play out there. We can just be Ryan and Troy, boyfriends. Sound good?" He gestured towards a small loveseat, a rather ugly one with puce green cushions.

Troy smiled. "Yeah," he said, softly. "I've been hoping for that, today. My father's started pressuring me even more." He sat down on the coach, laying his head against the back.

"Even more?" Ryan asked. "You didn't act too worried about it this morning." He sat down next to Troy and gently laid his hand on Troy's leg.

"Well, you didn't seem too worried about your sister, either," Troy pointed out. "But Kelsi told me what you were trying to do."

Ryan sighed. "I had to try. If it had been anything else besides you, I would've just begun plotting against _her._ But you don't need the added stress. So I was attempting to appeal to Sharpay's better nature. Get her to leave us be."

"How did that go?" Troy asked, curious.

"The jury's still out," Ryan said, shaking his head, "on whether or not Sharpay even has a better nature. As for you? I think she means business. But she's diverting my protestations by playing the whole 'he's not gay he's just messing with you' card, and nothing I could say can convince her otherwise."

"That means that I need to prove her otherwise," Troy said, grimacing. "Which means I need to tell my father. Who is not going to be happy, at all." Troy took a deep breath, before telling Ryan the rest. "He's starting to suspect that there's something going on between us, just because of the rumours around school and the 'date' that he was positive I was on, on Saturday night." Troy narrowed his eyes. "He said he received information about it, and he must've heard it today, since he didn't bring it up last night. So somebody must've told him. Your sister, maybe?"

"My guess is Cross," Ryan said. "I doubt my sister's ever interacted with your father at all. But Cross was on your team, and he was there, that night."

"It doesn't really matter," Troy sighed, his voice soft. "My dad doesn't want me hanging out with your 'element.' Apparently you'll ruin my reputation and any NBA career I could have."

"I don't know that he's wrong," Ryan hesitantly said. "You know how few professional athletes are out of the closet. This could hurt your career, Troy."

"I don't even know that I have one," Troy said, shrugging. "A lot can happen between then and now." Troy shook his head. "I don't know… I just don't want to think about it, right now. It makes me nauseous, and I want to enjoy the time I can spend with you." He smiled at Ryan, who returned it.

Troy shifted on the couch and leaned back until he was resting his head on Ryan's chest, switching the roles they had played when resting in Troy's car that night. Ryan wrapped his arms securely around Troy and rested his chin on Troy's head.

"I don't know what to do," Troy whispered. He had a thousand reasons to go, to end their budding relationship, each more important than the last. Troy wasn't Ryan; Ryan knew who he was and what he wanted. It seemed that every time Troy thought he knew who he was, something would happen that would prove otherwise. Troy hadn't known he'd enjoy singing and performing just as much as basketball until last year's auditions. And he'd had no idea that he could be as happy as he was when he was with Ryan. Another guy. That feeling of contentment was the only reason for Troy not to end the relationship, and so far it was holding its own against all the other reasons. Troy felt happy and at peace when he was in Ryan's arms, shielded from the cruel world, and only wished that that feeling would be enough. But Troy knew better than that. Sooner or later, he was going to be facing some hard choices, and not even Ryan could shield him from that.

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So, I meant to give them a little happiness in this chapter, which was supposed to be a nice little fluffy chapter. But it didn't end up little, and there wasn't a whole lot of fluff. What was intended to be the calm before the storm ended up being clouds moving quickly overhead. Oh well. Quick preview for the next chapter: look forward to seeing more Gabi!

Also, did you know that avoiding cliches makes writing just a little harder? Heh.. It would've been so easy to fuck with them by having them keep things from each other, but for once, I'm giving my characters an open relationship. Course, they'll still find a way to muck it up, somehow. They always do.

We're going back to the old system of updating. Look forward to seeing the next chapter in about a week. Want it sooner? Let me know what you think! A rather equitable exchange, I'd say.

Squall Thrawn


	13. And the Truth Shall Make You Fret

A/N: So, I figured a nice chapter addition would be a fitting tribute to the fact that HSM 2 is coming out today. From all indicators, this movie is probably going to convert me to Chyanism, assuming I haven't been already. But I shall continue this story until we reach the end! Unlucky Chapter 13... But who will it be unlucky for; Ryan, or Troy?

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

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Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 13 - And The Truth Shall Make You Fret

"Troy, I'd like to have a talk with you," Lucille Bolton said, standing in the doorway of Troy's room. Troy was sprawled across the bed, doing his history homework. It was late afternoon on Thursday, nearly a week since Troy and Ryan had become official. And considering how much stress his father and Sharpay had been putting on Troy, Troy almost felt like celebrating the one week anniversary. After all, at this rate, he wasn't sure how many milestones they were actually going to reach.

"What's up, Mom?" Troy asked, rolling over so that he was facing her.

"Well your father and I have been talking," she started, noticing how Troy grimaced briefly at the mention of his father. "Your father is rather worried about you."

"He shouldn't be," Troy said, rolling back over. "I'm doing fine. In fact, I'm doing better than that."

"Well, I've noticed that you've been acting somewhat secretive, of late," Mrs. Bolton said. "Before this week, you've always been home at more or less the same time every day. So far this week, you've been much later than that. By a couple hours, even."

"Do I have a curfew for when I have to come home from school?" Troy challenged. He'd spent the afternoon, and the previous three afternoons as well, with Ryan in what they were calling _their_ dressing room.

"Honey, we just care," Lucille Bolton responded. "Your father also mentioned that he believed you were hanging out with somebody who could be a bad influence on you. That's why I'm concerned about what you're doing after school."

"A bad influence?" Troy asked, incredulously. "I can't believe you'd say that about him. I always thought you liked Ryan."

"Ryan Evans?" Mrs. Bolton asked, shocked. "He's the bad influence? Your father must be talking about somebody else. You know I have no problem with Ryan Evans. I'm glad the two of you are friends."

"No, there's no mistake," Troy said, bitterly. "Dad thinks that Ryan is a bad influence on me." Troy was silent for a moment, as he considered whether to tell his mother anything more. Troy had never been nearly as worried about his mother's reaction to his revelation as he was about his father's reaction. A little more information couldn't hurt, right? And Ryan was already out… surely he wouldn't mind? "Dad thinks that about Ryan because he found out that Ryan was gay," Troy said, forcing a touch of non-chalance into his voice.

"I'll admit, I always wondered a little about him," Lucille Bolton said, her tone light, as if it was no big deal. "It's none of my business, of course, but I'll admit to having wondered. Well, if he's happy, that's what matters. Your father's a little narrow-minded about those things, but I don't see what could possibly be wrong about having Ryan Evans as your friend. If anything, I'd say he's a _good_ influence on you, Troy, with his politeness and courteousness." Troy's heart beat a little easier. That was a bit of good news. "As long as that's all it is, Troy," Mrs. Bolton continued. "After all, I hear it's a difficult lifestyle to have to deal with. I wouldn't wish that sort of stress on anybody. Especially not you."

Troy was suddenly glad he wasn't facing his mother as she said those words; Troy was sure his emotions would've given him away. "Maybe it's just a hard lifestyle because everybody else makes it so difficult for them," Troy said, trying to keep his voice steady. "Maybe if people accepted them more, their lives would be no different than yours or anyone else's."

"Well, that's how society is, Troy," Mrs. Bolton said, reasonably. "You can't change it. Regardless of what you or I think about homosexuality, it _is_ an abnormal lifestyle."

"What the hell _is_ normal, and why should Ryan care about what society thinks?" Troy asked, trying so hard not to shout. "I would call a gay couple _atypical_; it's not the sort of relationship you typically find. But I don't think Ryan would like to be called abnormal, and I _know_ I don't like the word being used." That last part came out a little more forcefully than Troy would've liked. This had been part of a discussion Troy had had with Ryan on Tuesday, when Troy had been curious to know about gay relationships. Troy knew full well that their relationship wasn't the sort you commonly saw, and that many gay couples, themselves included, chose to keep things secret. But his relationship with Ryan felt right, felt so normal, that having it called abnormal was almost a stab at Troy's very sense of self and well-being.

"I didn't mean to offend you, honey," Mrs. Bolton said, picking up on some of Troy's anger. "Like I said, Ryan Evans is a nice boy…"

"Even if he is a pervert in an abnormal relationship?" Troy added, a growl in his voice.

"I didn't say that," Troy's mother said, her voice no longer light. "Don't put words in my mouth; especially words like that. So he _is _in a relationship?" she asked, referring to Troy's answer. She sounded a little relieved, Troy thought. Probably because she figured that if he was with another guy, he wouldn't be pursuing Troy. 'That's true,' Troy mused to himself. 'He doesn't have to pursue me; he's already got me.'

"Yeah, he's got a boyfriend," Troy said, who couldn't help but smile. "And knowing Ryan as well as I do, I know that his boyfriend is the luckiest guy in the world." That was exactly how Troy felt about himself. He still couldn't believe his extremely good luck, especially considering what had happened between them before that.

"Good for him," Mrs. Bolton said, smiling. Probably because she didn't know that Troy was talking about himself. "He deserves somebody nice."

"Yeah, though it would be nicer if his boyfriend had an easier time gaining acceptance," Troy muttered under his breath.

"Troy…" Mrs. Bolton said, her voice suddenly worried. Had he said that too loud and given too much away?

"Can I get back to my homework now, Mom?" Troy asked, trying to end the conversation.

Lucille Bolton sighed, before nodding. "Dinner's in half an hour," she said, before leaving Troy's room. Troy could tell that this wasn't over, but apparently she wasn't in the mood to pursue things any more. Troy waited until he heard her walking down the stairs before he jumped up and closed the door. Locking it, he pulled out his cell phone and hit the correct speed dial button. This time, Troy was greeted by the sounds of a much more pleasant ringback tone informing him that he couldn't stop the beat. Much better than the ominous one about being totally fucked.

"Hey, Troy," Ryan answered, cheerfully. "I was just about to eat dinner. What's up?"

"It's nothing," Troy said, sighing. "Go and enjoy dinner. Call me back later, ok?"

"You're not fooling me, Bolton," Ryan said. "I can tell that something's wrong. What's the matter?"

"Tell you later, ok?" Troy insisted. "I don't want you to miss dinner. I don't have anything going on tonight, so I'll be here when you call."

"Fuck dinner," Ryan said, bluntly. "Tell me what happened, Troy. You sound upset, and I'm not hanging up until you tell me."

"It was my mom," Troy said, giving up. It was obvious that Ryan wasn't going to let him off, and besides, wasn't this why Troy had called in the first place? "She's been talking to my dad, and was worried about a certain 'bad influence' in my life."

"Your mother thinks I'm a bad influence?" Ryan asked, a little surprised.

"Yes and no," Troy hedged. "She didn't know that you were the person my father was talking about; she thinks highly of you, actually." Troy sighed. "That's when I came up with the stupid idea that she might be okay with us, so… I outted you. I hope you don't mind."

"Troy, I don't mind," Ryan reassured him. "After all, that's probably the first step in telling your parents about us."

"She wished you nothing but happiness," Troy started. "But then she mentioned how stressful it must be, and that she hoped that I, of all people, wouldn't have to deal with it."

"Troy…" Ryan started, trying to comfort his boyfriend.

"Then she called us abnormal," Troy burst out. "My own mother, and she said that our sort of relationship was abnormal." Troy's shoulders slumped. "I thought my mother would have been a little more accepting."

"Troy, you have to give her a little time," Ryan said, soothingly. "From a certain perspective, it _is_ abnormal. After all, there are a lot more straight couples, and since normal is basically majority rules, abnormal fits. Of course, I don't agree with the concept of normality. But I can see where your mother is coming from."

"I thought you'd be offended by what she said," Troy said, amazed. "I know I was."

"Maybe a little, but I've had more time to contemplate being gay, Troy," Ryan said, reasonably. "And I know that _you've_ felt that being in a gay relationship might limit your future, that it might hold you back from doing this or that. Why can't your mother think the same thing?"

"But what do I say to that?" Troy asked, lost.

"You hold your head up high and show everybody that you're _not_ going to let it hold you back," Ryan replied. "Be firm, be convincing, and let them see that. From what you've told me, your mom might be ok with it if you show her that. Besides, to be fair, she didn't even know that that label applied to you when she said it."

"I feel kinda silly, calling you about my insecurities," Troy mumbled. "You must be tired of having to hold my hand and guide me through all this easy stuff."

"Never, Troy," Ryan said immediately. "This stuff isn't easy at all, not for anybody. You should know that I don't mind at all." Ryan chuckled. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to hold your hand, period. If you ever have anything on your mind and you want to talk about it, tell me."

"I'll say the same to you," Troy said, feeling immensely relieved. Troy managed a smile. "You know what I did tell my mother? I told her that your boyfriend is the luckiest guy in the world."

"It's true," Ryan said so smugly that Troy could practically hear the smirk that was surely on his face. "You forgot the part where he has good taste, too." Troy and Ryan shared a laugh. "No, it's me who's the lucky one, Troy."

"Let's say we're both lucky, and leave it at that," Troy suggested.

"Good plan," Ryan approved. He paused a moment. "Would it be okay if I headed down to dinner, now?" Ryan hesitantly.

"Go ahead," Troy said, chuckling. "Enjoy your meal. And Ryan? I know I said it before, but thanks for listening to me and being so patient."

"It's my pleasure, Troy," Ryan responded. "I'll see you tomorrow at school?"

"Wild horses couldn't keep me away," Troy replied. "Have a good evening, Ryan."

"Bye, Troy." With that, the call was cut off. Troy sighed, feeling a little better about himself, now. He still had the unenviable task of telling his parents, sooner or later, but at least it helped that Troy had a boyfriend who actually knew the right things to say to calm Troy's troubled mind and steer him in the right direction.

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"We should do something tonight," Troy suggested to Ryan as they walked across the student parking lot, which was nearly deserted by this point. "It's Friday, after all, and Friday night's a great night to hang out."

"As if we don't spend enough time together as it is," Ryan said, grinning. "Sounds like fun, though. What do you want to do? Go to another movie, and this time skip the awkward fumbling around for each other's hand? Or," and here Ryan's grin turned devilish, "we go to a movie that's been out for quite a while, and make out in the back row. There won't be as many spectators, that way."

"There's always that," Troy acknowledged, though he knew he wasn't ready for something that drastic. Regardless of how dark the theatre was, Troy would be too nervous about the possibility of somebody he knew discovering them, to actually go through with that. Weird that he felt that way now, when he'd had no problem with it less than a week ago. "Or we could go to the mall, hang out there for a while, maybe grab some ice cream."

"Have you ever gone ice skating, Troy?" Ryan asked, a thought crossing his mind. "There's an ice skating rink in the area we could go to. I think you'd have fun."

Troy thought about it for a minute. "I guess I could try it," he conceded. "I get to pick where we eat, though. Sound good?"

"It's a date, then," Ryan said, teasingly. "Do you want me to drive, this time?"

"Ok," Troy said, forcing a smile on his face. He was a little concerned about his father's reaction when Ryan came to pick him up, but tried not to think about that.

"I'll pick you up around six thirty," Ryan said, smiling.

"In that case, I'd better head home and get ready," Troy replied, half-turning towards his truck.

"Ok, Troy," Ryan said, approaching Troy. Troy involuntarily swallowed hard as Ryan entered his personal space. The two had done a fair amount of kissing in their dressing room, but Troy still felt uncomfortable doing it in public, even in a deserted parking lot like this.

Perhaps Ryan could feel the tension that coursed through Troy's body, because his pink mouth stopped mere inches from Troy's own lips, and instead gave him a quick hug. Troy thought he could see disappointment flash across Ryan's face, but a second later that was gone.

"I'll see you later, Troy," Ryan said, his smile back on his face. He got into his beautiful convertible and roared away, as Troy watched him. Troy sighed. He knew that Ryan was trying to be patient with him, but he could tell that it hurt Ryan that he had to hide everything. And that he had a boyfriend who freaked out over little displays of affection even if there was nobody watching. Like in the parking lot just now, or every other afternoon when they said goodbye. Troy barely spoke to Ryan while school was in session now, afraid that people would figure out what was going on between them and it would get back to his father. Chad and Zeke had both told him he was being stupid about it, and Kelsi had been even harsher. Frankly, Troy was still amazed that Ryan was willing to put up with all of this, just for _his_ insecure ass. Troy still knew little of Ryan's previous dating life; afraid, he supposed, of not measuring up to them or something. After all, Troy still wasn't entirely sure what he was doing when it came to guys; knowing about girls had come naturally to Troy. But Troy was fairly certain that Ryan had never had to deal with somebody this far deep in the closet. Troy decided to make it up to Ryan, somewhat, by loosening up a little when they went out. An arm around the shoulder or waist, or even a little peck on the cheek; that wasn't so hard, was it?

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The sound of the front door bell rang loudly through Troy's house, and Troy, still shirtless, cursed just as loudly. It had been Troy's original plan to watch for Ryan's car from his window, and avoid any sort of confrontation. Ryan was still a rather touchy subject at Troy's house, and since Ryan was picking Troy up on a Friday night, Coach Bolton would probably suspect it was another date. Granted, his suspicions were totally justified, since it was, once again, a date. Unfortunately for his plans, though, Troy had been plagued yet again by his inability to find that perfect shirt to wear. As a result, he hadn't looked at the time or through the window, and now Ryan was on Troy's porch.

As he quickly grabbed the first shirt he saw that he hadn't already rejected, Troy listened intently to what was going on downstairs. Troy's mother had been the one to answer the door; and Troy could already hear her and Ryan making friendly conversation. Troy sighed with relief, hopeful that this particular night could start without any fireworks at the beginning. Quickly heading to the bathroom, Troy spent just a little bit of time fixing his hair. As he left the bathroom, however, he heard raised voices from downstairs and hurried down the stairs.

"…My son doesn't need friends like you to ruin his reputation," Coach Bolton was saying, his voice filled with annoyance and a little bit of anger.

As Troy entered the room, he took in everything at a glance. His mother was sitting in an armchair, looking uncomfortable as she watched her husband verbally attack Ryan. Jack Bolton was pacing in front of the fireplace, glaring at Ryan. And as for Ryan? Standing by the opening to the hallway, he was looking as dapper as usual, yet another stylish hat on his head to compliment his rather unique taste in clothes. His face was expressionless, as Troy might have suspected, but he could tell as he walked into the room that Ryan was beyond happy to see Troy.

"Mr. Bolton, I know you care about your son," Ryan responded, carefully. "You want what you think is best for him. Shouldn't that be up to Troy, though? Shouldn't he be the one to choose who his friends are, what his future plans are, and who he chooses to share his life with?"

"If you fit in any of those categories, then my son's judgment leaves something to be desired," Coach Bolton said, angrily. "He doesn't need a faggot like you to damage his chances of a spot on the roster of an NBA team."

"Don't call him that!" Troy shouted, jumping into the conversation. "Ryan is a good friend of mine, and he doesn't deserve to be treated like that!"

"Don't you dare tell me what to do in my own house," Coach Bolton said in a hard voice. "Keep your mouth shut, Troy, and speak only when spoken to."

"No," Troy said, his voice low and shaky, but he held his head up high. "Dad, you taught me to stand up for my beliefs. So that's what I'm going to do." Walking over to where Ryan stood, Troy put his arm around Ryan's shoulders. "Ryan is a good guy, and a loyal and true friend. And he's not going anywhere, Dad, no matter what you say."

"He better not have gotten to you, too," Coach Bolton warned. "I won't stand for it."

"We're leaving now, Dad," Troy replied. He briefly looked over at Ryan, who gave him a look of understanding, then the two boys walked out of the house. Troy could tell that his father wasn't finished with whatever he had to say, but he was keeping it to himself, for now.

They soon reached Ryan's beautiful blue convertible, shining in the moonlight. Ryan opened his car door for Troy, who got in, feeling rather numb. He hadn't quite come out to his father, but now, more than ever, that time was iminent. Troy was still silent as Ryan opened his own door and slid into his seat. He was still silent as Ryan pulled out of the driveway and drove away from the house.

"You didn't have to do that," Ryan finally said, breaking the silence. "I could've dealt with your father; there wasn't anything he could really do to me. But now he's not going to let up until you tell him the truth, or flat-out lie to him and tell him we're not together."

"I did have to do that," Troy insisted. "Even if I haven't told my parents yet, I'm still your boyfriend, and I'm not going to let you take all the heat from this." Troy hesitated a moment. "And I don't want to lie about you," Troy finally added. "Even if it makes my life more difficult."

"Well, I don't see it getting any better," Ryan said, quietly. "Any regrets about being together, Troy?" Ryan asked. "After all, you were a straight jock before I came along, and I'm sure you could go back to girls easily if I wasn't in the picture."

"Is that what you want me to do?" Troy asked, a little hurt. "Do you want to break this off?"

Ryan sighed. "What I want, Troy, is you," Ryan said, in a quiet voice. "All of you. Right now I feel like I've only got part of you. I only see the real you when we're alone after school. The rest of the day, we either exchange polite conversation or we don't even approach each other. Those all too brief moments at the end of the day just don't make up for that."

"So you want me to come out completely?" Troy asked, incredulously.

"I don't know what I want, Troy," Ryan said softly. "I know I'm probably being selfish about this. It's just that while all this hiding is going on, it makes me feel insecure. I know full well that this is stressing you out, and the fact that you thought I was breaking up with you… well, it makes me think that you've been considering doing the same to me. And don't deny that, Troy," Ryan added, as Troy opened his mouth to protest. "I can read you better than you'd think, and I know the thought's crossed your mind more than once."

"But even if I thought it, once or twice," Troy conceded, "that doesn't mean I want to. I want to be with you, Ryan, but I'm still trying to make sense of it all, and figure out my place in everything."

"While you do that, however, I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop," Ryan replied, sadly. "I mean, I want to help you figure out these things, but at the same time I'm afraid that you'll decide to go back to the world of breeders. That you'll throw up your hands, declare that dating a guy is too much for you, and hook up with some cheerleader."

"Do you really think so little of me?" Troy asked, a little angrily. "That I'll just give up and abandon you one day?"

Screech. Ryan hit the brakes as he quickly pulled to the side of the road. They were on the very outskirts of Troy's subdivision, just before reaching the main roads and the highway.

Looking straight at Troy, Ryan glared at him. "Troy, you outted me to the entire school and abandoned me to the dubious mercies of the entire student body, just to preserve your _reputation_," Ryan snarled. "So don't act all surprised that I'm worried that you'd do it again."

Troy slumped in his seat as Ryan's angry words washed over him. "You're absolutely right," Troy said, his voice soft and shaky. "Who am I kidding? When the going gets tough, I abandon the people who matter to me, to save my own skin. The school starts talking about if I'm gay or not, so I out you and blame everything on you. Now, when my dad pressures me to end our friendship for the sake of my possible future, why wouldn't I do the same thing?"

There was a dead silence in the car that greeted Troy's words. Ryan, despite being vindicated, actually looked like he was about ready to cry, which caused Troy to look away. He couldn't bear to see Ryan hurting. Especially when it was his fault. Wait a minute, though. That was the key, right there. The difference.

"But do you want to know why I'm not going to do the same thing again?" Troy asked, his shaky voice becoming firmer with every word. "It's because I'm not the same person that did those things, that morning." Troy knew, for once, exactly what he was saying, and his voice rang with sincerity. "I told you once that the guy that outted you that morning wasn't the real me. You were right when you said that I always claimed that that wasn't the real me, just to avoid blame or regret. That _was_ who I was, the guy who didn't take responsibility for his actions, or consider the consequences." Troy cleared his throat.

"But then you came along, and you helped me realize what was more important in life, my friendships or my reputation. A reputation is such a useless thing to fight for, and I'm ashamed that I ever considered it worth the cost of a friendship." Troy looked straight at Ryan, who was intently listening to Troy's every word. "You, on the other hand… Ryan, you are worth everything to me. You're the only person in the world that has ever gotten me completely, and hasn't tried to change me into something I'm not. All you've ever wanted me to do was be myself, and to not be afraid to show others who I really am. And though I'll admit that this new realm that I've entered into scares me, I'm not just going to turn and walk away." Troy shrugged his shoulders, and said simply, "You make me happy. Happier than I've been in quite a long time, and I'd be a fool to exchange that for a life with no guarantee of that happiness. I'll take the sure thing, any day."

"Troy…" Ryan said, his eyes tearing up. Whatever he was going to say was interrupted, however, by the sound of Troy's cell phone. Troy would've ignored it and silenced the call, normally, but that particular ring tone told him who was calling, and Troy saw the perfect chance.

"Hi, Mom," Troy answered, as he placed his hand tentatively on Ryan's knee. Ryan looked at him with wide eyes, as he clasped Troy's hand in his own two hands.

"Troy Alexander Bolton, what's gotten into you?" Lucille Bolton's voice was clearly audible even to Ryan, though the speaker phone was _not_ on. "You don't speak like that to your father, no matter how you feel about what he said."

"Does that mean you agree with what he said?" Troy asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

"This… this isn't the right time to talk about it," Troy's mother said, quietly. "We'll discuss this when you get home." She paused for a moment. "Troy, can you tell me what's going on? You've been acting so moody and distant, and I know there's something you're not telling me."

Troy sighed. This definitely wasn't the way he'd ever imagined he'd do it, but he knew he had to. And Ryan had to be there, to hear it as well. Troy was determined to prove to Ryan that he meant what he said.

"You're right, Mom, there is something I've been keeping from you," Troy managed, his hands trembling. "And I do owe you an explanation. I'm sorry for keeping this from you, but I was scared."

"Scared? Scared of what, Troy?" Lucille Bolton asked, a growing worry in her voice.

"Mom… ," Troy stammered. "I'm dating Ryan Evans."

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I can honestly say that seldom has a chapter been as difficult to write as this one. This chapter has changed forms so many times, gained and lost scenes and dialogue… It's for that reason that a scene featuring Ms. Montez isn't in this chapter; she got deleted out of about two or three places. It just wasn't the time for her story to come out.

So, readers, how do you think Mrs. Bolton should react? Let me know, and perhaps I'll choose what _you_ think should be her reaction! Either way, I like to hear what you like about the story!


	14. Skating on Thin Ice in More Ways ThanOne

A/N: So, I didn't mean to take as long as I did on this chapter, but after you read it you'll see why I waited a bit. Plus, my computer decided to wipe out a couple of pages, yet again.

All those who like this pairing can rejoice, I have not converted to Chyanism! Oh, I can definitely see the sexual tension there, and they would make a cute couple. But I can't give up on Troy as long as he has a smokin' hot bod like that! In fact, me liking both pairings will help when I get to my next story, the summary of which is already written out on a post-it.

And thanks so much for the reviews on the last chapter! I was afraid that people'd lost interest in the story after the boys got together, but I have so many more hoops for them to jump through!

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

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Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 14 - Skating on Thin Ice in More Ways Than One

There was a loud clatter heard through the phone before the call cut off.

"I'm guessing your mom dropped her phone," Ryan said, in a surprisingly even tone. "I think you took her by surprise."

"You think?" Troy said sarcastically, but he couldn't even muster up a glare for Ryan. Ryan, for his part, just squeezed Troy's hand gently. "Should I call her back?" Troy asked, tentatively.

"Give her some time to process things," Ryan advised. "I didn't want you to do that before you were ready," Ryan said, softly. "I'm sorry if I forced you into it."

"Don't you get it, Ryan?" Troy asked, incredulously. "I did that for you! You said you were afraid that as long as I kept our relationship a secret, I always had the possibility of changing my mind and going back to girls. Nothing I was saying to you could convince you that I wasn't going to… so I chose to show you." Troy looked straight into Ryan's eyes. "Do you believe me, now?"

"Troy…" Ryan smiled gratefully. "After what you just told me, I would've believed you. But," Ryan hastily added as Troy looked shocked, "I'm floored by what you just did. That took a lot of bravery, and I won't forget that." Ryan lifted up Troy's hand from its position on his knee and kissed it gently. "And I'm sorry I was feeling so insecure."

"No apologies necessary, Ryan," Troy said, shaking his head. "I really did that, didn't I? I just came out to my mom." Troy held up his other hand for inspection, it was trembling.

"You really did, Troy." Ryan shrugged, as he grinned suddenly at Troy. "But look on the bright side, Troy! You won't have to come out to her again; I guarantee she'll remember the first time!"

"That's so reassuring," Troy replied, sighing. "What if my parents freak out, and disown me? My Dad… God! You know how he was reacting to it! What's he going to say?"

"Troy, this is just my opinion," Ryan began, "but I doubt your parents are going to disown you. Your father and your mother both want what's best for you, and I'll bet they're both just worried that the gay thing will make things more difficult for you." Ryan's voice was tender as he tried to reassure his nervous boyfriend.

"So I hold my head up, and show them I'm not going to let it hold me back," Troy replied, smiling despite himself.

"Exactly," Ryan said, smiling proudly. They sat there for a minute, silent, as they gazed into each other's eyes. Then Ryan placed Troy's hand, the one he had been holding, on his pale cheek. Leaning forward, Ryan put his own hand on Troy's shoulder, drawing him closer. There was no hesitation on Troy's part this time as his lips met Ryan's small pink mouth. Troy opened his mouth almost immediately to welcome Ryan's tongue into it. There was passion in their kiss, yet a little bit of desperation. To Troy, this night felt like that one time at Ryan's house a month ago, when he had showed up at the door as an unwelcome guest, soaking wet and with no working vehicle. More than ever, he felt like he was adrift and drowning in the ocean, bounced around by the waves. But this time he had a life preserver. Ryan was the one who would keep him afloat, would make sure that Troy never felt overwhelmed by anything.

That feeling amazed Troy to no end. He'd liked Gabriella; liked her a lot, actually. It may even have been love. But at no time during their relationship had Troy ever felt as confident as he did now. Ryan didn't have to tell Troy it would be ok; just _being_ around Ryan made Troy feel like everything would be okay. Troy thought, perhaps, that the real reason was because when they were together, they threw away all the pretenses, all the masks. They were just Ryan and Troy.

Eventually, Ryan pulled away, smiling. Troy gazed back at him, out of breath. Ryan's lips looked red and swollen, though Troy was sure his didn't look any different. "I had to stop now," Ryan said, running his hand affectionately over Troy's cheek. "Otherwise, I wasn't sure I would be able to stop at all."

"I'm not sure I would've minded," Troy said, finding his voice.

"But the night is still young," Ryan smirked. "We still have time. That is, unless you want me to drive you back home?" he asked, in a more serious voice.

"I thought we were going out tonight," Troy reminded him. "After all, that's what started all of tonight's drama."

"But you just outted our relationship to your mother," Ryan said. "I wasn't sure if you wanted me to take you back home so you could figure things out with your parents."

"Once I get home, it's just going to be crazy and stressful," Troy sighed. "Can't we just have some fun tonight, together? My life's gonna change once I enter that door; I'd like to have something positive to think about."

"I can promise that," Ryan said, smiling tenderly. He gave Troy a quick peck on the lips before putting his car back into gear and pulling away from the side of the road. "Do you have anything planned for Sunday night?" Ryan asked.

"Not that I know of," Troy responded. "I might be grounded for the rest of my life for being a sodomite, but barring that, I'm free. Why?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with my parents," Ryan said, smiling.

Troy swallowed hard. "Do they… do they know about us?" he asked.

"Yes and no. I did finally come out to them," Ryan admitted. "Tonight, before I left home to pick you up. I didn't tell them about you, though. I didn't want to unless you were okay with that."

"How did they react?" Troy asked, curiously.

"Like I suspected, they pretty much already knew," Ryan said, shrugging. "After all, it's not that big of a surprise to anybody who knows me. It was still a big deal, though, to tell your parents something this important." Ryan frowned. "Sharpay wasn't anywhere to be found when I told them. I guess I was hoping she'd try to be supportive Sharpay; apparently she's still bitter and scheming. But I told my parents that I did have a boyfriend, and as I suspected, they immediately offered you a place at the dinner table."

"Do you think they'll approve?" Troy asked, nervously.

"Troy, my parents adored you when you were working at Lava Springs. They also didn't have any problem when it looked like you might end up with my sister," Ryan said, his lip curling. "I'm sure they won't mind if you end up with me instead."

"I was never interested in Sharpay that way," Troy protested. "She pursued me!"

"Whatever," Ryan replied. "I just think you have a thing for Evanses. I guess I should be lucky I don't have any other brothers or sisters."

"That is so not funny," Troy said, shaking his head. "So, how much farther to the ice rink?"

"Few minutes, Troy," Ryan said. "It's two exits away. Looking forward to skating?"

"I don't know," Troy said, apprehensively. "I've never been ice skating before."

"How about rollerblading?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty good at it," Troy said, feeling a little relieved.

"Well, it's nothing like rollerblading," Ryan said, chuckling.

"That's helpful," Troy grumped.

Before long, they were pulling into the parking lot. It was actually busier than Troy had expected it to be. He expressed as much to Ryan.

"It won't be that bad," Ryan promised him. "At any given time, about a third of the people are off the ice, watching other people skate while complaining that they make it look so easy."

"So, people like me, in other words," Troy said, wryly.

"Nope!" Ryan said, cheerfully. "You'll be the guy on the ice that those people point to, to make themselves feel better." Troy playfully swatted at Ryan's head.

"You keep that up, and it's over between us," Troy threatened, then ruined it with a big smile. Troy had always enjoyed the witty banter they exchanged; conversations like this were one of the biggest things that Troy had missed when he had estranged himself from Ryan. Acting on pure impulse, Troy leaned over and kissed Ryan on the lips; closed-mouth this time, but no less filled with passion than the previous ones.

"We… better get some skates for you before they rent them all out," Ryan managed, sounding delightfully out of breath. His eyes looked glazed, while his lips were puffy and red. Not to mention the fact that Ryan's newsboy hat was sitting back on his head, looking horribly crooked. Troy decided to remedy that, setting it properly on Ryan's head before briefly caressing Ryan's flushed cheek.

"Let's go, then," Troy said, grinning, before opening his door. Ryan followed suit and after grabbing a small case from his trunk, the blonde was walking side by side with Troy, towards the entrance. "I don't even think I'm surprised that you own your own pair of ice skates," Troy said, chuckling. "Just don't tell me you own bowling shoes, too."

"In that case, I won't tell you about them," Ryan said, impishly. Troy gave him an incredulous stare. "Come on, Troy, do I really look like the sort of person who hangs out in a bowling alley? Before you and the other Wildcats came along, all I had was Sharpay, and you're even less likely to see her in a bowling alley than me."

"In that case, we'll have to go with Chad, Zeke, and Kelsi," Troy replied. "It's a lot of fun, even if you aren't any good." He grinned at Ryan, as he debated whether or not to take his hand. His thought process was interrupted, however, when his cell phone rang. Ryan and he both recognized the ring tone at the same time.

Troy hesitated a moment, before answering it. "Hi, Mom," he said, tentatively.

"Hi, baby," Mrs. Bolton said, her voice sounding a little hoarse, like she'd been crying. Troy's heart sank. "Where are you at?" she asked.

"We're at the ice rink," Troy replied, knowing that she was trying to keep things light. "Ryan's gonna teach me how to ice skate. Or fall on my ass; I'm honestly not sure which."

"Sounds like you'll have some fun," Lucille Bolton said, forcing some lightness in her voice. "I have no doubt that Ryan's probably a good skater; I always thought he was rather graceful."

Troy looked at Ryan, who smiled back at him. Things were going well, so far. "Mom…"

"Troy, have you considered all the consequences?" Mrs. Bolton blurted out. "Have you thought out what could happen if you were found out?"

"Mom, the whole school thinks they know, already," Troy said, gently. "Even when I wasn't with Ryan, they still thought that. The only way I could avoid it is if I really did sever all ties with Ryan. And I can't, I won't do that." Troy sighed. "Yeah, I have thought about what could happen, or what might or might not happen in the future. But Ryan… he makes me happy, like nobody else ever has… And he gets me. Completely." Troy reached for Ryan's hand as he said those words, wanting support.

"Troy, you know that as your mother, all I want is for you to be happy," Mrs. Bolton said, and this time Troy could definitely tell she was crying. "If he makes you happy… if he treats you well… that's what's important."

"Does Dad know?" Troy asked, worried.

"I think so, honey," Mrs. Bolton said, her voice a little uncertain. "I didn't tell him what you said, but he had a good idea, already. And when he saw me crying after what you told me… He's not happy, Troy."

"Should I… should I come back home?" Troy asked, diffidently. He knew he didn't want to, but if he had to, he would.

"No, sweetie, you have fun tonight," Mrs. Bolton said. "I'll try to talk to your father; you know he's going to want to hear it from your own mouth, though." She hesitated. "Could I speak to Ryan, for a moment?"

Troy looked bewildered, but handed the phone off to Ryan. Ryan took it gingerly, before speaking. "Mrs. Bolton?" Troy couldn't hear what his mother was saying at all- the parking lot was a lot louder than their silent car interior had been. "Yes, ma'am. No ma'am, that wasn't my- No, that's not how it- Yes, ma'am. Well, I guess we'll have to see. Here's Troy." Ryan handed the phone back to Troy with an unreadable look on his face, but Troy knew trouble when he heard it.

"Troy, I'd like you home by ten," Mrs. Bolton said. She sounded suspiciously calmer.

"Ten o'clock, Mom?" Troy asked, unable to believe what he was hearing. "It's a Friday night, with no school in the morning at all. When I was with Gabriella, you never gave me a curfew like that." Troy silently apologized to Ryan for comparing him to Gabi; Ryan just attempted a little smile. Apparently, whatever Mrs. Bolton had said had actually upset him.

"Well, perhaps we've been too lax in our parenting," Mrs. Bolton said, without coming out and saying that perhaps their oversight had led Troy to pursue such an unhealthy relationship.

"I'll be home when we're ready," Troy responded, a little annoyance in his voice. Why was his mother switching gears so fast? She wanted Troy to be happy, yet she now seemed determined to curtail the time he spent with Ryan, the source of said happiness.

"Troy, don't argue," Mrs. Bolton said, a little testiness in her tone. "This sort of thing is not like your relationship with Gabriella, and we need to discuss things before I let you take this any further."

"Or I could just skip coming home tonight," Troy said, in a sharp tone. "I'll crash at Chad's house, instead." Troy sighed. "I know this is a big thing to dump on you all at once, but my relationship with Ryan is _exactly_ like what I had with Gabriella. Two people who like each other and want to be together. I guess I just finally realized that gender shouldn't make a difference if you actually care about each other that deeply. It wasn't what I was looking for, _but_," and Troy made sure to emphasize his next words, "this isn't just some bizarre reaction because Gabi dumped me. This isn't a rebound relationship, either, it's the real thing. I need you to know that, Mom, and I really need your support. Things are tough enough without anything else being added to it."

"We'll have to see, Troy," Mrs. Bolton said, sounding a little less angry, but still none too pleased. Then she surprised Troy. "You probably _should_ stay with Chad tonight, though." Troy couldn't believe his ears. "If you come home tonight, I'll end up waiting for you, and by the time you get home we'll both be tired and we'll say things we probably won't mean. Stay with Chad, or Zeke. We'll talk tomorrow." Wow. Troy was so shocked that she didn't mention Ryan's estate when she was bringing up places to stay. Not. After all, that was why Troy had used Chad's name instead of Ryan's, anyway; why fight an unnecessary battle?

"Yes, Mom," Troy said, for lack of anything better to say. "I'll talk to you later."

"Good night, Troy," His mother said before hanging up the phone.

"She doesn't want me to come home tonight," Troy said to Ryan, still shocked. "She thinks we'll just argue." Then he looked imploringly at Ryan. "Could I crash at your place, instead? I don't want to bother Chad, and your place does have a lot of rooms. I don't mean to impose, though," Troy added, hastily.

"You're always welcome in our house," Ryan said immediately. Troy expected Ryan to tell him what his mother had said, but Ryan had sunk back into a broody silence.

"Ok, what's the matter, Ry?" Troy asked, concerned. "What did she say to you?"

"The usual," Ryan said, shrugging. "She thinks I filled your head with nonsense and converted you to the dark side." Ryan attempted a smile, that came out rather twisted and mocking. "And I'd say that by the end of the weekend, I'll actually be proven right in what I said on Monday. Your parents might actually use the term 'perverted homewrecker.' Your mother specifically brought up Gabriella and the relatively short time between the end of that relationship and the beginning of ours."

"It'll be ok, babe," Troy said, deliberately using a term of endearment, something he hitherto had refrained from doing. Ryan needed immediate support and caring from his boyfriend. "I'll talk to her tomorrow, and explain things. Once she understands how long this was in coming, she'll get it." Troy roped Ryan's waist with his arm and pulled him close. "We're together, and our relationship isn't the shallow rebound kind. It's been in the works for months now; it just took me a while to stop being stupid. It's actually built on a strong foundation."

"Thanks, Troy," Ryan said, quietly. "I needed to hear that." Ryan put his own arm around Troy's waist, and leaned his head against Troy's shoulder.

They remained linked together as they walked to the entrance of the ice rink; unfortunately, the large crowd forced them to separate as they approached the window to pay their admission fees. After Ryan paid out the small fee, it was off to another queue, this time to rent Troy's skates.

"I know I'm going to suck at this," Troy groused, shaking his head. "I'm going to fall on my ass so many times…" Then he shook his finger at Ryan. "And you're not allowed to laugh, either."

"Why, Troy, I would never laugh at you," Ryan said, in a mock innocent tone. "What makes you think I would do such a thing?"

"Because I know you too well," Troy replied, drily. "And if you want there to be a second time for this, you have to be nice for the first time."

"Don't worry, Troy," Ryan said, confidently. "You'll have fun; you're in good hands."

Finally approaching the counter, Troy soon had his own pair of skates. His doom could not be avoided any longer; following Ryan, they were soon sitting on a bench near the ice, lacing up the skates. Or rather, Ryan was lacing up his skates and then, after watching Troy struggle for a bit, Ryan laced up Troy's skates as well.

"They're a little bit tricky, at first," Ryan said, noticing Troy's grumpy expression. "You have to make sure they're extremely tight. You ready, Troy?"

"As I'll ever be," Troy sighed. Even walking on the rubber matting was hard enough as Troy made his way to the opening in the boards. "Any advice before I break my neck out there?"

"Try not to fall," Ryan said, succinctly. "But know that you will, anyway. We all do, at first. Try to stand on the flats, though; that's the center of the blade."

Troy nodded, and took one step out onto the ice. And promptly slipped. He found himself laying on his ass, Ryan looking down at him with a sympathetic look on his face. Grimacing, Troy tried to get back up, but couldn't get his footing. Ryan, smiling gently, took a hold of Troy's arm and helped him back up. Troy immediately gripped the boards with both hands.

"I am going to kill whoever came up with this brand of torture," Troy growled, as he struggled to stay in place. "It's worse than waterboarding." He looked around, and all the other people on the ice seemed to be doing quite well; they almost seemed to be mocking him with how easy they made it look.

"Come on, Troy, I know you can do it," Ryan encouraged him. "Keep your ankles locked so you can rest your weight on the middle of the blades, and use your arms to balance yourself out."

"That would require me letting go," Troy pointed out. "And I don't see that happening. I let go, and down I fall."

Ryan sighed dramatically, and, skating behind Troy, put his arms around him. "I've got you now, Troy," Ryan said, comfortingly. "I won't let you fall. Let go of the boards."

Slowly, reluctantly, Troy released his death-grip on the boards. He still felt off-balance, but Ryan offered enough support that he was able to stay on his skates.

"Hold your arms out, palms down; that'll help you balance. Like you're on a tightrope," Ryan advised Troy. Troy did so, and felt that it helped, marginally. Ryan slowly loosened his hold on Troy's waist, and eventually removed his hands completely- Troy managed to stay upright. "Good job, Troy," Ryan congratulated him. "Now I'll show you how to move forward." Instead of explaining it to Troy step by step, Ryan chose to show him, instead. "Watch my skates and my knees as I move." Ryan started gliding over the ice, slowly, to demonstrate for Troy. "You see, I'm on the inside edge of the blades, here."

Troy watched him intently, hoping to catch on. Ryan finally executed a small pirouette and came back to Troy. "Now you try," Ryan said, cheerfully. "And if you want, hold onto my arm if you have problems keeping your balance." Troy immediately grasped onto Ryan's arm as if it was a lifeline. And then he tried to skate forward.

Even if he was just as thrilled about ice skating as he had been about DDR, Troy was still determined to get this down. After all, DDR had turned out alright, in the end. Five spills and a sore ass later, though, and Troy's determination had taken a hit. Things of an athletic nature had always come easily to Troy, and the fact that no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get the hang of ice skating, and he was frustrated. But each time he looked over at Ryan, looking for a little bit of mercy, Ryan would just smile encouragingly at Troy, and Troy would feel compelled to try just one more time.

Bam! Troy had only travelled a few feet before ending up on his ass, yet again. Once again, Ryan was there to pull him back up, to smile at him yet again.

"We can take a break if you want," Ryan said, patting Troy's shoulder sympathetically. "You don't have to catch on this quick. I'll bet your ankles must be sore."

Troy growled, before trying to skate again. His competitive nature prevented him from taking the easy way out. But as Troy moved, he could start to feel the rhythm that had thus far eluded him. Despite what Ryan had jokingly said earlier, Troy did feel that there was an element of roller blading in this sport. Obviously there were big differences, but the feel of it was similar, and Troy found himself moving his body much like he did when he was roller blading. He actually made it more than a few feet before he started to lose his balance.

"I'm so proud of you, Troy," Ryan beamed as he effortlessly glided beside Troy and caught his arm. "I knew you could do it."

"This isn't so bad," Troy begrudgingly said. "It is kinda fun, once you get the hang of it." The two boys started making slow circles around the rink, Troy using Ryan for support at all times. His technique was far from flawless, after all.

"Ready to learn about the triple salchow?" Ryan asked, teasingly, as he patted the hand currently gripping his other arm.

Just then the loudspeaker, which so far had been piping in louder, upbeat music, switched to a slower song, as the lights dimmed, the strobe lights were turned on, and mirror ball began to spin.

"It's the Couple Skate," Ryan explained to Troy. "Only couples are supposed to skate; they do silly things like that once in a while. Guess it's time to take a break, eh?" Ryan smiled wistfully, before skating towards the benches. He was stopped suddenly by Troy, who hadn't removed his hand from Ryan's arm.

"No, this is our skate," Troy insisted, quietly.

"Troy, more people watch this skate than normal, since a lot of the skaters aren't in a couple and have to sit out," Ryan tried to explain in a reasonable tone. "If we stay out here, we're gonna be seen by a lot of people. I've already spotted some East High students here, tonight. I thought we were going to keep things quiet."

"Doesn't really matter anymore," Troy shrugged. Letting go of the arm he was using for balance, Troy very nearly wiped out before straightening himself out. Offering his hand to Ryan and giving him an imploring look, Troy tried to explain. "I think it's because I've been East High's Goldenboy for so long," Troy said, ruefully. "I'm so used to being the center of attention that I'm not as scared by this as I probably should be."

"Well, there is the fact that the school already thinks we're together, anyway," Ryan pointed out, helpfully. "You were out in school before you were actually out." Ryan thought about that a second. "I swear, that actually makes sense, somehow."

Troy chuckled. "I know what you're saying," Troy reassured him. "So, do you actually care if we show these people what they expect to see, anyway?"

Ryan considered Troy's words, before reaching out and taking his hand. The two began their skate around the rink with the rest of the couples, which, surprise surprise, were all straight couples. Since the two boys, or at least Troy, was a novice at skating, they skated quite slow and were frequently passed by the rest of the couples. They had already received their fair share of odd looks as they'd debated whether or not to stay on the ice, but they received far more looks from skater and spectator alike as they started circling the ice hand in hand.

"Wonder what my dad would say if he could see this?" Troy tried to inject a little levity into his words. It failed miserably. "I… I don't know what to expect, Ryan. I don't think he would hit me, at all, but he can get awfully mad." Troy's foot slipped and he almost fell, but Ryan seemed to possess a good sense of Troy's skating, and immediately reached over and helped him regain his balance.

"I noticed that," Ryan replied, drily. "After all, he thinks I'm an unsavoury friend of yours. My words, not his, but it comes out to about the same. I could tell that he's not somebody I necessarily want to be around if he gets mad again." Ryan shrugged. "Then there was the brilliant moment when we were both in detention with Ms. Darbus." Ryan grinned, as he reminisced. "I was staring at your ass whenever nobody else was watching me. Then your dad came along and yelled 'what the heck are those two doing in a tree?' He looked fit to be tied."

"Dad doesn't like anything to mess up his plans," Troy sighed. "His plan to win the championship that year. His plan to win the championship _this_ year. Oh, and I almost forgot, his huge plan on what I'm going to do the rest of my life. He's got that one down to the last detail," Troy added, bitterly.

"Well, maybe he just wants to make sure your future is bright," Ryan offered, trying to look on the optimistic side.

Troy scoffed. "He just wants to make sure I realize his own unfulfilled dreams." The two skated a while in silence, before Troy continued. "My father was a big player on the East High Wildcats when he was here. He never made it beyond college ball, though. He was a good player, but the other guys were better. He never really got a chance to play and show the NBA what he had. Now he's just a basketball coach at his old school, watching his son seemingly throw his rather more certain professional basketball career away over some guy." Troy sighed. "No wonder why he's on my case, right now."

"_Wouldn't_ I hold you back?" Ryan asked, quietly.

Troy looked over at his boyfriend quickly. "I can't say it'll make things easier," Troy admitted. He gestured towards the entrance to the rink with his free hand; his ankles were killing him, and he was eager for a break. Ryan followed him, and then as Troy slipped yet again, Ryan ended up more or less leading them. Finally on firmer ground, Troy found himself moving slightly more confidently. All that time on the ice had improved his ability to stand up on his skates, as well.

"Please continue," Ryan said, his voice quiet. As they sat down on a bench near the locker where they had placed their personal belongings, Troy took Ryan's hand in his own.

"Well, it's true that being with you would make my chances of getting into the NBA much smaller," Troy conceded. Ryan immediately pulled his hand out of Troy's grasp, indignantly. Troy hastily continued at one look at Ryan's hurt expression. "But that's not such a big deal if I don't really want to play in the NBA. I mean, I like basketball a lot, and I'm really good. But there's nothing wrong with it if I decided to use my basketball scholarship, and study and major in something that I'd rather do."

"Like what, Troy?" Ryan asked, intrigued.

Troy shrugged. "I've got a couple of ideas," he said, smiling. "But the fact remains, why should I worry about getting into the NBA if I don't want to? And that's not just because of us," Troy added, before Ryan could say anything. "I've been thinking about it for a while, now. I just didn't have the courage to bring it up to my dad, or Chad, or anybody else on my team. Or Gabi, for that matter," Troy shrugged. "It must be your bad influence, Ryan. You force me to tell the truth and not play a role that people have stuffed me into."

Ryan grinned at Troy's comment, and was about to respond when suddenly his expression changed to wariness and his hand shot out to grab Troy's hand. Troy smiled at first as Ryan grabbed his hand, but as he noticed Ryan's expression he became alarmed.

"Troy, I need you to promise me something," Ryan said, urgently.

"Anything, Ryan," Troy said, confused as hell. Thinking that it must have been something behind him that sparked Ryan's reaction, Troy turned to look behind him and found Ryan's other hand preventing him from looking.

"Troy, you have to promise me not to make a scene," Ryan said, urgently.

"Ryan, what's this about?" Troy asked, now really alarmed at his boyfriend's insistence.

"Troy, promise me," Ryan pleaded. "Just promise."

"Alright, I promise not to make a scene," Troy said, looking to Ryan's eyes. "What's going on, Ryan?"

"Gabriella's here," Ryan said, softly. Troy felt confused. Surely his ex-girlfriend's presence wasn't enough for this sort of melodramatics. "She's here with her boyfriend. The one that she was with, that was the reason why she broke up with you." Troy's eyes widened before he got an angry look on his face. "Troy, you promised!" Ryan pleaded, as Troy turned around to see his ex-girlfriend and the bastard she had left him for.

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Oooh! Who could it be? Who would you like it to be? Heh. This confrontation's been waiting to happen for two or three chapters…

To all of you ice skaters out there, sorry if I messed things up slightly. Even if you don't believe what I say, I do.. Cuz the reason why I waited to write this was because I went ice skating for the first time in my life today!! And let's just say, Troy did better than I did… though that's not saying much. But though I wasn't too good, I had lots of fun!

Also, now that I've watched HSM2, I have some views on the characters that I didn't have before… and without going into too much detail, I don't like Jason or Coach Bolton… and it was completely a coincidence that neither are portrayed in a positive light. But in my next story, I'm gonna make it up to Gabi; she's such a sweetie!! And more Sharpay, definitely!

Finally, I've started writing up my own personal impressions of HSM2, cause the movie caused me to have quite a few thoughts and comments… if you want to see that, let me know.. And I'll stick it up on my profile.. If you prefer not to hear my completely original rantings on the movie, that's fine, too

Plz read and review!! They make me happy, and cause me to write faster!!

Squall Thrawn


	15. Speed Bumps and Tender Moments

A/N: Ok, so here's the scoop. Sorry for the delay in the chapter; the holidays didn't give me a whole lot of time to write. Also, this is, by far, the longest chapter I have written for this story. I was determined to cover the rest of the night.. Boy was there a lot to cover!

Also, there's another reason for the delay. I was attacked by a plot idea that I absolutely had to write about. It's a one-shot almost done as well, and will probably run about the same size as this chapter, if not just a little more. So half my time's been spent on this story, just to get it done with. But here's where we reach the snag. This story is dark. Really dark. Frankly, I found it disturbing just how dark parts of it were. And I am actually concerned that this story would get me kicked off of this archive, somehow. Is there a rule against graphic stories that have rape and suicide? I figure there must be. If only I could get the damned plot idea out of my head.. But I had to write it, if for no other reason than to test my writing skills. So, if anybody knows any rule along these lines, please let me know. I don't want to lose my other stories, my author account, or stuff like that. So if these things would get me kicked off, it'll be on this site under a different author name. The title of it will be "One Last Phone Call" and it'll be rated M for Mature. If it gets taken down, I've created a live journal for this story, and I'll put the url in my profile. By the time Chapter 16 comes out, we'll have found out how well it's received.

Also, I want to thank everybody for their great reviews!!! It's so lovely to get those in my mailbox! And I hope that everybody had a Merry Christmas and that everybody has a Happy New Year!

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

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Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 15 - Speed Bumps and Tender Moments

Time seemed to go in slow motion as Troy took in the sight of the guy who had had the audacity to get with Troy's girl, the boy who had fucked with Troy's life in numerous ways since then. Troy was still wearing his ice skates, but they weren't hindering his movements at all, as he made his way to the couple. He could sense Ryan's presence behind him, could feel Ryan's hand tugging on his own, urging him not to go through with this. And his words, pleading with Troy that he'd promised. Troy roughly jerked his hand away from Ryan's grasp and before he knew it, he was right in front of the duplicitous couple and throwing the dark-haired boy to the wall.

"Give me one reason- One Reason!- why I shouldn't pound your ugly fuckin' face in, Cross!" Troy yelled, his face beet red. Jason Cross was looking ready to piss himself, as Troy got right in his face.

"Troy, please," Ryan begged him, as he placed his hand on Troy's shoulder. "He's not worth it."

Troy, the adrenaline flowing through him, turned automatically towards the sudden physical contact and was about to swing at the person attacking him from the side when he suddenly realized what he was about to do. And who he was about to hit. One look at the expression on Ryan's face: shocked and afraid, and the red-hot anger that had coursed through Troy's veins suddenly left him, and his hands dropped to his sides. Troy couldn't believe what he been on the verge of doing.

Troy whispered a heartfelt "I'm sorry" to Ryan as the blonde stepped forward and placed his arm around Troy's waist, pulling him back just a little. Ryan looked up at Troy and pecked him on the cheek to show him that he forgave him.

"If not for the fact that Ryan's a better person than I am, and I promised that I wouldn't make a scene, you would be laying in a bloody heap on the floor," Troy growled at Jason. Several other skaters quickly cleared out of the area, to avoid getting involved.

"So, I _was_ right," Gabriella grinned, though her smile showed no mirth. "You are together. The once great Troy Bolton, admired by all of East High, reduced to the lowest of the low; a fag."

Troy gritted his teeth; he wanted to badly to punch Jason's stupid face in, to yell at Gabriella and call her every name he could think of. Such a far step away from their situation only six months ago; Troy had been happy being with Gabi, Jason was a close friend, and Ryan Evans was only a small blip on the radar. Well, maybe not small, but still, he didn't have as big a presence in Troy's life as he did now. Now, he was all Troy could think about.

"You know, if I had found out about this right after we broke up, it actually would've shocked me a lot more," Troy said, trying to remain calm. "But after what's happened in the last month or so, I can't say I'm as surprised. After all, I now know that Gabi's a bitch, and that Jason is a disloyal backstabbing friend." Troy shook his head. "How long has this been going on?"

"Four months," Jason smirked. "Ever since you didn't help Gabriella win that part in the Winter Musicale. She was pissed off at you, and I came along to comfort her, when you didn't make it up to her."

"Why is losing a part in the musical such a big deal?" Troy demanded, incredulously. "You know I had basketball!"

"Oh, bullshit," Gabriella snapped. "You managed it last year, and that was when we had our callbacks, scholastic decathlon, and the big game all in the same day! You could've done it, if you were truly committed to our relationship!"

"If I was committed to… what kind of relationship is that, when if I don't do what you say I'm being a bad boyfriend?" Troy replied, incredulously.

"Troy, the song and the musical were our thing!" Gabriella exclaimed. "It's how we met, how we got together! How we got back together, for that matter, after his bitch of a sister tried to screw things up," she added, glaring at Ryan. "You knew we were a shoe-in if we auditioned together; Sharpay always hams it up on stage when she's performing with Ryan." Gabriella threw up her hands. "Instead, you let this fag take the role without even any competition, and Sharpay actually sang the song without overdoing it. Ms. Darbus was so impressed; she couldn't help but give her the role."

"Gabi, you lost the role, fair and square," Ryan said, in a hard voice. "You both sang the song well, but Sharpay did it just a little better, so Ms. Darbus chose her." Ryan glared at her. "You might recall that even though she was pissed off at you winning at callbacks last year, Sharpay still buried the hatchet and wished you good luck. You just stormed off in a huff when you lost. Into the arms of this bastard?" Ryan said, indicating Jason.

Gabriella looked over at Jason, pleadingly. "Are you going to let this queer talk like that to me?" Jason shifted his weight but before he could even move towards Ryan, Troy was back in his face, blocking his way.

"I told you last Saturday," Troy said, in a deadly quiet voice. "I don't give a fuck what you say or do to me. But you mess with Ryan, and I fuck you up." Jason gulped. Troy turned towards Gabi. "So this lying sack of shit is the reason why you broke up with me. Of course, you wouldn't want the school to know that you were a cheating bitch. We can't have that now, can we?"

"Like you have room to talk, you fuckin' faggot," Gabi shot back. "Look at you, getting all chummy with the queer. You let him have the musical role that you should've been playing alongside _me_, and you started hanging around him when you should've been making things up to me."

"That's true," Troy said, musingly. "If not for you being a bitch and acting all distant and shit, I might not've gotten closer to Ryan. So instead of me being actually happy, I might still be with your unfaithful ass." Troy grinned, suddenly. "I guess I should thank you for that." Turning back to his blonde boyfriend, Troy kissed him on the forehead. Ryan smiled at him, though his smile looked a bit strained.

"Excuse me! What's going on over here?" demanded a loud voice. A large, burly man with the name on the skating rink on his satin jacket was heading right for them. "Somebody said there was fighting going on."

"There's no fighting here," Troy said, backing up a little. "I think Ryan and I were just leaving." He looked at Ryan, who nodded. There was so much more that Troy wanted to say to Jason and Gabriella, but now obviously wasn't the time for it.

The two boys were silent as they removed their ice skates and gathered their belongings. Troy returned his ice skates and the two boys were all the way to Ryan's car and driving out of the parking lot before Troy finally spoke.

"I'm sorry for my behaviour in there," Troy said, sighing. "I know I promised you that I wouldn't make a scene, and then I came so close to decking Jason."

"He deserved it," Ryan said, shrugging. "If anybody does, he does. But I didn't want you to get in trouble because of him."

"You already knew about this," Troy stated, forcing himself to remain calm. "Long before tonight."

"Yes," Ryan admitted.

"So when we saw him at the theatre, you knew he was screwing around with Gabi, and had been for some time," Troy continued, his voice still not containing any anger. Though it was definitely a struggle.

"I've known since before you came over to the house that night," Ryan admitted. "I did tell you the next morning that Sharpay had gotten the family investigator to find dirt on Gabi. She found out about Cross and told me."

"Four months they've been together," Troy muttered to himself. "I can't fuckin' believe he was acting like my friend all that time, and fucking Gabriella behind my back. Now I'm glad she was holding out on me; I wouldn't have wanted my cock in there where his has been."

"Yeah, you told me the night of the party that you hadn't slept with Gabriella since before the auditions," Ryan said, nodding. "I was happy to hear that, especially after the rest of the dirt Sharpay found out."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Troy asked, his eyes narrowing. He really wasn't happy to find out that Ryan had kept Gabi and Jason's tryst from him all this time, and he had a feeling he was going to dislike this revelation even more.

"Gabriella's about eight weeks along," Ryan blurted out. "I didn't think it was my business to tell anybody, but I swear I would've told you if you'd slept with her recently."

"She's… pregnant?" Troy repeated, dumbly. "Gabriella… My Gabi… is having a fuckin' kid with Cross!!?"

"Yeah, she fuckin' is, Troy, and do you know what, if I never hear you call her 'my Gabi' again it'll be too soon!" Ryan exclaimed, his voice rising with every word. "You may not have been thinking about it at the time, you were so angry, but do you know how much it hurt to see you acting jealous about Jason and Gabi?" Ryan shook his head. "You're not with Gabi anymore, Troy, you're _my_ boyfriend!"

"Well, I can't fuckin' believe you didn't tell me about them!" Troy countered.

"By the time I found out, you weren't even friends with Cross anymore!" Ryan retorted. "So I didn't see the point in it. All you could do about it is kick the crap out of him, and I didn't want you to do that. As for the pregnancy?" Ryan shook his head. "It didn't involve you, so it wasn't any of your business! It still isn't! Troy, I know you don't like the fact that your former friend Jason knocked up your ex-girlfriend while she was still dating you, but that was their mistake, Troy! Their mistake, their bad choices, and now they have to deal with it. They do! How do you and I fit into that equation at all?"

Troy was silent after Ryan's outburst. He had a lot to think about. He finally spoke up as they got onto the highway. "Where are we headed?"

"Chad's," Ryan replied, not looking over at his passenger. "It's obvious that you're not happy with me, and to tell you the truth, I'm not too thrilled with you either, at the moment. So let's just end the night before we get any angrier with each other."

"Do you really want to leave it right here?" Troy asked, quietly. "Because I don't."

"Alright, Bolton, what's your brilliant suggestion then?" Ryan asked, an acidic tone in his voice.

"I promised to treat you to dinner," Troy replied, ignoring the jibe. "I still want to. But can we stop somewhere so we can talk? Somewhere a little more private than a street in my subdivision, though."

Ryan considered it for a moment, before nodding. "I know a place," he said finally. "It's not too far away from here." He gunned the engine and accelerated down the highway. From what Troy could tell, Ryan seemed eager to get this talk over with. Of course, that only meant that Troy had less time to figure out what the hell he was going to say.

Ryan's idea of a good place was a side road not that far away from the turnoff to Lava Springs. The side road eventually led to an overlook that gave Troy a great view of the desert. Ryan parked the car and turned off the engine.

They sat there for a while in silence, before Troy suddenly and quietly began chuckling to himself.

"What's so funny?" Ryan asked, but with no real rancor in his voice.

"Us," Troy said, still chuckling. "Why is it that we have most of our important conversations in vehicles?"

"Maybe because it's more difficult to escape," Ryan said, quietly. "This way, we don't leave till it's resolved."

"It's too bad we're not in my truck," Troy added, casually. "I think that would've helped, too."

"How so?" Ryan asked, looking confused.

"Cause then we could've stretched out like we did last Saturday, and I could've put my arms around you as well," Troy stated plainly. "That would've been fun to do."

Ryan looked over at Troy funny, as if he wasn't quite sure Troy was all there. "Umm, last I checked, we were still fighting," Ryan said, puzzled. "Did I miss something?"

Troy shrugged. "All that fighting was getting boring, and over Gabi and Jason? Not worth the effort. I mean, were you enjoying the fighting?"

Ryan was trying valiantly to keep up with Troy. "Well, no, but…"

"Well, neither was I. So what's the point?" Troy shrugged. "I was mad at you for keeping secrets from me, but now the secret's out. And I'm not sure what good staying mad would really do me, so I decided not to."

"Well, I…," Ryan was pretty much being caught flat-footed; a rare occasion, at least when it came to Troy- Troy almost found himself being the one who couldn't keep up with Ryan.

Troy sighed. "I know, the things we argued about were important," Troy said, softly. "And we probably need to talk about them. But sitting in this car, with you, suddenly made me realize something, something that this week of us dating has demonstrated to me. And it's that none of these little things matter. I mean, I wish you 'd told me about Gabriella and Jason; even if I'm not with Gabriella now, I was with her for those three months that she was with Jason. That, at least, I think I did have a right to know."

"You did," Ryan said, softly. "But I wasn't sure how to break the news to you without telling you about the pregnancy."

"I don't understand why you wanted to keep that from me, so badly," Troy confessed.

Ryan sighed. "It's just… I understand how it feels to have a secret- not just any secret, but a potentially life-changing secret. And once everybody at school finds out about Gabriella, they're not going to look at her the same, anymore. Right now, she's still the innocent peppy girl who sings well and is really really smart. How will people treat her when they find out that she cheated on you with one of your close friends and teammates, and is carrying his baby?" Ryan shrugged, in resignation. "Besides, she's apparently alienated her friends enough as it is; I don't think she'd get much support from them, any more. When you have a secret this big, you want to tell only the people you know will be okay with it, and who will keep your secret. I know a little something about that."

Troy hung his head, guiltily. No matter what, it always came back to that.

Ryan seemed to sense Troy's remorse, though, and gently put his hand on Troy's leg. "I've told you before, Troy. I forgive you. I was just using it to illustrate my point. I found out about her secret because my sister's extremely nosy, not because Gabi wanted me to know. So I felt really uncomfortable about telling anybody else, for that matter." Ryan sighed. "I'm sorry, though. You definitely had a right to know about Jason and Gabi, and I probably should've told you everything a while back."

Troy smiled, gently. "See what I meant about it not being worth fighting about? So far, we've made our relationship work by talking out our problems. There's one thing you were wrong about, though," Troy said, bluntly. Ryan raised his eyebrows. "It wasn't jealousy I was feeling when I saw those two together; it was disappointment. And betrayal. I didn't know I could feel any more betrayed by either of them, until I found out about this. But it was not jealousy." He took Ryan's hand. "I honestly almost feel sorry for them; from what I know of them, I think it's going to end badly. And all the while, here I am, deliriously happy. How could I possibly be jealous of them?" Troy smiled at Ryan. "So I feel sorry for them for what they're missing, but not _that_ sorry. And while you felt jealous at how I was reacting towards Gabriella- like I said earlier tonight, you don't need to be." Troy looked right into Ryan's eyes. "I am _your_ boyfriend, like you said. But you're _mine_, too."

"Oh, am I?" Ryan said, smirking. "Possessive, aren't we?" Far from sounding offended at Troy's assuming statement, he instead looked… victorious. "Well, you're right… I am yours. But like you also said, you're _mine_. And I'm gonna make certain that Gabi doesn't stand a chance at reclaiming you."

With that statement, Ryan leaned forward and, locking his hand in Troy's brunette hair, pulled the other boy into a fierce kiss. Before a week ago, Troy never would've imagined that Ryan would be like this, but he sure wasn't complaining. Dating a guy was definitely a far cry from dating a girl; you had to be gentler with a girl, but Ryan was giving as good as he got. Troy placed his own hands on Ryan's arms, allowing him to deepen the kiss even further. His eyes were shut fast, allowing him to concentrate on the sensations being caused by Ryan.

Then Ryan's other hand, which had fastened himself to Troy's collar, began to migrate downward from Troy's shoulder, and Troy involuntarily shuddered as he felt Ryan's hand brush across his nipple. Troy could also hear and feel Ryan shifting around in his seat, but with his eyes closed, he couldn't _see_ what the blonde was doing. Troy was being pushed back, though, as Ryan's demanding mouth pressed his advantage. To Troy, it almost felt like he was having his soul sucked out through his teeth, Ryan's kiss was that powerful. Then Troy was sitting all the way back in his seat, his head against the headrest. Then Troy felt a sudden weight on his legs, and opened his eyes. Ryan was on his lap, straddling him as best he could in the convertible. Troy could feel Ryan's warmth pressing up against him, and he could also feel himself completely hard in his pants. Troy never would've guessed that another guy could turn him on this much, but Ryan knew how to press his buttons. Ryan's blonde hair was tousled and uncovered; his hat had already been tossed aside with little thought for where it had landed.

Ryan broke off the kiss and was now looking down on Troy, his eyes full of hunger. And Troy couldn't help but be consumed by his gaze, just as full of lust. Ryan brought his head back down and resumed their frantic liplock. Both of his hands were on Troy's chest, caressing Troy's muscles, but still through the shirt. Troy's own hands were busy running down Ryan's back, feeling the pale boy's slender form, his leaner muscles formed from all that dancing. Well, that and the yoga.

Ryan finally started unbuttoning Troy's shirt, though he took his time. Troy actually moaned, wanting Ryan to speed it up. He definitely would never have guessed last month that he would be in a car making out with Ryan Evans on a bluff and enjoying every second of it.

Since Troy had been in a big hurry, he hadn't thrown on an undershirt and as Ryan unbuttoned his shirt, more of Troy's tan, muscled physique was shown. During that summer at Lava Springs Ryan had watched, through his binoculars, Troy playing basketball shirtless with the other Wildcats, or swimming in the Lava Springs pool after Ryan had made Troy and the other Wildcats his personal guests, enabling them to use the facilities when they weren't on the clock. But Ryan had never imagined that _he_ would actually be undressing Troy Bolton, East High's Golden Boy, the Wildcats Playmaker himself.

Ryan finally finished with the buttons, throwing Troy's shirt open. Troy started reaching for the buttons on Ryan's shirt, but Ryan gently removed his hands as he shook his head, teasingly. "Not yet, Troy," Ryan said, a note of huskiness in his voice. As Ryan began reaching for something on the side of the seat, Troy briefly wondered what he was doing before Troy's seat was suddenly tilting back into a reclining position. Ryan's smile was rather devilish as he looked down at Troy. He slowly began unbuttoning his shirt, going a little faster than he had when he was going after Troy's buttons. Ryan did have a white undershirt on, as usual, and Troy watched, open-mouthed, as Ryan shrugged off his button-up shirt and tugged his shirt from his belted pants. Crossing his arms and grabbing the bottom hem, Ryan slowly peeled off the white undershirt, revealing his pale torso.

Troy had heard that rat bastard Jason Cross making fun of Ryan's complexion over the summer, calling him pasty and an albino. Troy had torn into him about that, especially after what Ryan had done to teach the Wildcats, including Jason, to dance. Ryan did have rather fair skin, but it seemed perfect to Troy. All that creamy, unblemished skin, hairless except for the lightest of dustings leading downward into his jeans. Troy's breath quickened as he thought about where that hair led.

Ryan leaned forward and Troy pulled the smaller boy down the rest of the way until their lips met forcefully, Ryan's pale torso draped across Troy's own tanned one. Troy's hands immediately found themselves caressing Ryan's smooth back, while Ryan's own fingers were running up and down Troy's sides. Troy was completely hard by this point, his jeans bulging quite prominently. The friction caused by Ryan's gyrating hips wasn't helping matters, until Ryan shifted and Troy couldn't help but groan- he could feel Ryan's own member grinding against his.

"God, Ryan," Troy moaned around Ryan's kiss. "I never thought it would be like this…"

"Once I'm done with you, you won't even think of going back to the dark side that is breeder world," Ryan, smirking. He bent down but instead of catching Troy's lips with his, he latched onto Troy's throat, causing Troy to groan. Troy could also feel Ryan's hands on his bare chest, trailing downwards. Those soft hands caressing his skin, softer than the finest silk. Troy couldn't articulate any more than a groan at the feelings that Ryan was producing, but he was silently willing Ryan's hands to go even lower. And go lower they did, as Ryan's fingers gently traced the curves in Troy's abs. All in all, Troy found it so odd that Ryan could be so gentle with his hands, while his mouth was doing so much to Troy's neck. He was definitely making sure that Troy was visibly marked. The odd combination was making Troy almost hum with anticipation.

Then Troy felt it. Could feel Ryan's hands as they unbuckled his belt and deftly undid the button on Troy's jeans. Could feel them as they slowly pulled down the zipper; Troy could almost feel Ryan's fingers at that moment, as they unzipped him. This was it. Ryan was going to reach, and… Suddenly, Ryan's hand was removed from his waistband, Ryan stopped his ministrations on Troy's neck, and Troy looked up, alarmed.

Ryan looked nothing like the sexy guy from only two minutes ago, so confident and in control. Troy instead beheld a boy that looked almost diffident, and afraid.

"Are you… are you okay with this, Troy?" Ryan asked, tentatively. "I don't want to go too far, too fast. I would never forgive myself." Troy was almost certain he actually saw a tear fall. "I don't want to hurt you… or us."

Troy took one of Ryan's hands in his own, and kissed it softly. "I want this too, Ryan," Troy said, trying to convey his sincerity with his eyes. "I want this, and you, right now." Troy, still holding Ryan's hand, guided it down until it was at the waistband of his boxers. Until it was sliding under Troy's waistband and then Troy let out an involuntary moan as Ryan's soft hand finally touched his rock-hard member.

"Does this feel good, Troy?" Ryan asked, his confidence from earlier returning. Troy nodded his head up and down emphatically as Ryan gently ran his finger up and down Troy's length. "How about… this?" Ryan's hand began pumping Troy's cock, slowly, his fingers exploring it even as he brought Troy pleasure.

"God, yes, Ryan," Troy managed. Troy was on sensation overload, especially when Ryan began attacking his neck again. He would've thought the pale blonde was a vampire, the way he was acting. Reaching blindly, his eyes rolling back in his head from the sensations, Troy managed to find Ryan's own belt and attempted to unbuckle it. Between Ryan's ministrations and his own nervousness, though, and Troy's hands were shaking far too much to do any good. Ryan chuckled as he realized what Troy was trying to do, and paused the delightful things he was doing to Troy to take care of his belt, himself.

"I'm not being very smooth, am I?" Troy said, smiling ruefully. "I swear, I'm not usually this bad."

"No worries, Troy," Ryan said, reassuringly. He finished unbuckling his belt and unbuttoned his pants button. "Would you like to do the honours now, Troy?" Ryan said, teasingly. Reaching forward, Ryan resumed stroking Troy's member, which was protruding slightly above his waistband, now.

Troy took that as his cue and reached for Ryan's own boxers, which were tenting quite prominently. He hesitated for a moment, before mentally shrugging as he tugged down Ryan's boxers enough to reveal his pale white member. Stroking it made Ryan moan in the most delightful ways possible, and Troy found himself compelled to keep stroking, all the better to cause those reactions again.

Not to be outdone, Ryan pulled Troy's cock out completely and, still stroking it, dove down to hungrily kiss Troy, their tongues wrestling frantically. Troy stopped his motions to grab Ryan's waist through his unbuttoned pants and brought their hips- and cocks together. He could feel Ryan's penis rubbing right against his own rock-hard member, and knew that he was almost ready to blow. Pulling down Ryan's pants just a little more, Troy grabbed Ryan's ass with both of his hands, and Ryan moaned into Troy's mouth. They started rocking frantically together, Ryan's hands holding both of their penises together and stroking.

"Oh, God, Troy!" Ryan managed to gasp before jerking in Troy's arms as he came all over Troy's tanned chest. That was enough to put Troy over the edge too, as he bit down on Ryan's shoulder.

That moment of pleasure seemed to last forever, as if Ryan's presence extended it by so much. Troy lay there for a moment in his tilted car seat, Ryan's slight weight fully on top of him. Ryan basked in the moment as well, before moving his head enough to give Troy a peck on the lips. Troy returned the kiss, and they lazily duelled with their tongues for a while, before Ryan reluctantly pulled back.

"You're lovely," Ryan stated, plainly, a smile on his face as he looked over Troy's shirtless form, his wonderfully dishevelled hair. Still sitting on Troy's lap, Ryan grabbed his discarded undershirt and began to mop up the mess that had been deposited on Troy's chest.

"I wouldn't let just anybody call me lovely," Troy said, grinning. "That would be a threat to my masculinity. But I like hearing you say that. You're not too bad yourself," Troy added, trailing his finger down Ryan's bare torso.

"A ringing endorsement if I've ever heard it," Ryan replied wryly, wiping off his softening member before tucking it back in his boxers. He did the same for Troy's, but made sure to get a good feel as he tucked it back in.

"So, how does dinner sound, now?" Troy said, as he attempted to put himself back to rights.

"Sounds good," Ryan said, nodding emphatically. "Tonight's been rather… strenuous." He winked at Troy, who blushed. Ryan smirked as he put his own shirt back on, though for some strange reason he didn't bother to put the undershirt back on.

"Where do you want to eat? It's my treat," Troy said, unable to hide a slight frown when Ryan's shirt was finally buttoned up and he lost his unobstructed view of Ryan's rather nice form.

"I'm game for whatever," Ryan said, as he shrugged. Then Troy saw his eyes suddenly go wider, as he fought to hide a growing smirk on his face.

"What? What?" Troy asked, a tad alarmed. What had Ryan seen?

"Umm… you might want to look at your neck," Ryan managed to get out, before giggling helplessly.

"Look at my neck? What do you mean…" Troy trailed off as he realized what Ryan was talking about. And remembered what Ryan had been doing to him just a few minutes prior. Troy sat up quickly, and Ryan was nearly dumped off his lap at the sudden movement. Troy quickly looked in the rear-view mirror and groaned. "I look… There are… Damn, Ryan, did you have to leave so many marks?"

"I told you I was going to claim you," Ryan said, smiling unrepentantly. "You're mine, Bolton, and I'm just staking my claim." Ryan shook his head. "And don't think I didn't notice the bite mark you left on my shoulder. That's gonna be there for a while; my skin's so pale, it takes even longer for bruises to go away, completely."

"Well, I love your skin," Troy said, immediately, touching Ryan's cheek gently. And Troy was struck, yet again, by how different his relationship with Ryan was, how much deeper it was, despite how little time they had actually been dating. Troy had complimented Gabi all the time, but most of them had been the usual 'oh you look lovely tonight' sort. The kind where Troy genuinely felt that Gabi looked nice, but he had made a conscious effort to compliment her. When Troy complimented Ryan, they tended to spring out almost without thinking. Troy found himself expressing how he felt to Ryan immediately, albeit in plainer terms than usual, which could actually make a difference- they felt more true.

And whenever Gabi received said compliments, she seemed to take them as her due, as if Troy was only reaffirming what she already knew. When Troy complimented Ryan, he could tell that the blonde-haired boy was honestly touched by each and every thing that Troy said. Either because the blonde had seldom received honest compliments before or because he could tell that Troy meant each heartfelt compliment.

Ryan did indeed flush rather impressively at his particular comment; his pale skin made it show up, all the more. Leaning down, Ryan exchanged a somewhat long, closed-mouthed kiss with Troy. Troy automatically wrapped his arms around Ryan, drawing him closer.

"Seriously, Troy, we should… probably grab dinner… before all the good places… close," Ryan panted, in between kisses. "And… umm… yeah, dinner… what was I saying?"

"Nothing important, really," Troy managed to say. Ryan playfully hit Troy's chest at that, and broke the kiss off, but was still hovering over Troy, their foreheads nearly touching.

"You're incorrigible," Ryan said, giving Troy one more peck on the lips before sitting up and easing himself over into the driver's seat. "But apparently I've done a good job with you."

"How so?" Troy asked, bringing his seat back into the full, upright position.

"Last Saturday, it took you well over an hour to muster up the courage to take my hand, and we would've been waiting on my front porch for quite a bit more time than that for our kiss," Ryan stated, grinning mischievously. "Now you're a bloody nympho… who makes it really hard for me to concentrate on anything I'm doing." With that, Ryan pulled his car back onto the side road and was soon going at a fairly fast speed to reach the highway again.

"Wait a minute," Troy objected, as they drove along. "I was waiting for _your_ indecisive ass to take my hand. _You_ were the one that was unsure, not me. If I'd had my way, we've been doing it as soon as we walked into the theatre."

"_My_ indecisive ass?" Ryan exclaimed. "I'm not the one who couldn't figure out if he was straight or not!"

"Well, I was doing just fine until you sashayed into my life," Troy retorted. "Waving that tight ass of yours around, dancing all the damned time. You didn't have to be so damned sexy; I would've been just fine with my cheating, pregnant girlfriend."

"Good to know you can joke about it, now," Ryan said, a slightly more serious tone in his voice. "Oh, and now you're using the word 'sashay?' Damn, I'm turning you gay."

"If I can't make jokes about me and my life, I'm taking it way too seriously," Troy replied, shrugging. "And you're probably right about you turning me gay, too."

"That one thing sounds like something Danforth would say," Ryan observed. He merged on the highway and headed back towards Albuquerque.

"It's his little motto," Troy confessed. "But he never copyrighted it, so I'm stealing it, for purposes of this conversation."

"So noted," Ryan responded, in an officious voice. Then he patted Troy on the leg. "But don't worry, Troy; eventually you'll be original enough to come up with your own sayings and mottos."

Troy swatted Ryan's hand away. "You're my boyfriend, right? That means you're supposed to be nice to me."

"I'll start when you start," Ryan returned, quickly. "But where's the fun in being nice? Besides," Ryan added, shrugging. "I'm not sure how much niceness there really is in me; I am Sharpay's twin, you know."

"Speaking of your evil half, I've been meaning to talk to her," Troy said, grimacing at the thought. "I think she's wasting her energy on me; she should be going after our train wreck couple, Jason and Gabi."

"Wow, you _have_ gotten bad habits from me," Ryan noted, pulling off the highway. "You used to be East High's Goody Two-Shoes, now you're starting to think like me." Ryan wiped off an imaginary tear. "I'm so proud." He pulled onto one of the main drags in their area of Albuquerque, where all the restaurants were. "So, you said you were buying, so I'll let you pick."

Troy just grinned. "I just thought of an even better idea," he said.

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"Troy, I'm fairly certain this is cheating," Ryan said, shaking his head as he got out of his convertible. They were parked in front of the Evans estate.

"Nonsense," Troy said. "This is dinner… of a sort." He got out of the car as well, carrying two big bags of McDonalds.

"This isn't dinner, this is… fast food. Cruel and unusual punishment if I've ever heard it." Ryan got out his house key and started unlocking the door. "It's the butler's night off, tonight. Luckily, otherwise he'd spot the McDonalds."

"Ryan, must you be so melodramatic all the time?" Troy asked, amusement in his voice. "It's not the end of the world… besides, you've spent the entire ride over complaining about the fast food as well, and you started repeating yourself about ten minutes ago."

"Fine," Ryan grumped, as he finally opened the door. "I'm doing this under protest, though. And you'd better put out, tonight." Then Ryan turned around and grinned impishly at Troy. Troy just smiled and shook his head as he made his way to the front door. "So, we could use the entertainment room; it's got surround sound, a rather large TV, and a comfortable couch."

"But then we'll have to mind ourselves," Troy pointed out as he entered the foyer and Ryan closed the door behind him. "Not to mention the fact that your parents might figure me out earlier if they see me with you without Chad or the others."

"Good point," Ryan said. "That just leaves my room and the small TV I have in there."

"And the bed," Troy reminded him. "For cuddling," Troy added hastily, as Ryan raised an eyebrow. Ryan just smirked.

They soon found themselves in Ryan's spacious bedroom with a few DVDs that Ryan had selected from the vast catalogue his family owned. Neither of the boys had been able to settle on a particular restaurant, so when Troy had suggested getting some take-out and watching movies at Ryan's house, the idea had been quickly accepted. Of course, Troy had neglected to mention the fact that when he'd said take-out he'd meant McDonalds. Ryan had been bitching about it since then, but Troy knew he wasn't too serious; Ryan _had_ been driving, after all. If he'd been genuinely opposed to it, he wouldn't have stopped at all.

Once again, Troy was amazed by the sheer size of Ryan's room. Troy's own room was probably about the same size as Ryan's walk-in closet. If not a little smaller. And the 'small TV' that Ryan had mentioned was nothing of the sort; it was just small compared to the home theatre one they had in their entertainment room. Sometimes, Troy was almost surprised that the Evanses didn't have their own IMAX screen.

It made Troy feel so awkward, at times. His mother had a part-time job selling real estate, and his father was a basketball coach and teacher at the local high school. Ryan's mother, amongst other things, owned a country club, and Mr. Evans, well… Troy wasn't quite sure what he did, but figured he was probably a CEO or a chairman of the board or some other really important position. Which would explain the fact that the Evanses were _loaded_. Even though Ryan didn't act snobby- any more, at least- he was still in his element here, among the riches and popularity. What did Troy have? A small room, in a not-so-large house, in your average, run of the mill subdivision. The Evanses owned countless cars, had spacious gardens, and had servants. They had servants!

Suddenly Troy was brought back to reality by the feel of an arm being wrapped around his waist. He allowed himself to be turned around to face his boyfriend, who had already put his newsboy cap away. The ceiling light shined on Ryan's blonde hair, giving it odd highlights. "I know it seems overwhelming at times," Ryan said, quietly. "But it doesn't matter to me, Troy. Not at all."

Troy forced himself to smile. "I'm good," Troy said, kissing Ryan on the forehead. "So, what're we watching?"

Ryan gazed at him briefly, before shrugging. "I picked out a variety; comedy, action/adventure… even a musical, shocker of shockers."

Troy smiled at that. "Let's just pick one at random and put it on," he said, as he made his way to the bed where the food had been placed. "I'm hungry."

"Works for me," Ryan said, joining Troy. "Though I still maintain my position on fast food."

The next hour and a half was more fun than Troy could've imagined, even though very little actually happened. While watching the musical Ryan had picked out- Troy should've guessed that random to Ryan meant automatically choosing the musical- they ate their food and just spent time together. It reminded Troy of those afternoons in the school's dressing rooms, when they had spent time being Troy and Ryan, couple. They kissed, of course; Troy found it hard work not to plant kisses on Ryan's cute little mouth, and Ryan for his own part seemed similarly enamoured with Troy's own lips. But quite often, they just lay there, just enjoying the other's company.

"I'm gonna head to the bathroom," Troy said at one point, getting up from Ryan's bed. The blonde was half-asleep already and just mumbled something incoherent. Troy smiled fondly, giving Ryan a quick peck on the forehead, and left the room, intending to use the room just down the hall. He hadn't yet reached there when a certain other bedroom door opened, the door with the huge star with the initials S.E. engraved on it.

"I didn't know you were here, Bolton," Sharpay said, quickly. Troy could tell that she was about to go back into her room, so he quickly spoke up.

"Can I just talk to you for a minute?" Troy asked, looking imploringly towards his boyfriend's twin.

Sharpay made a noise of disgust, but didn't go back into her room. "What do you want to talk about, Bolton?" Her tone wasn't very encouraging. Troy continued, regardless.

"Why are you being so hostile towards us?" Troy asked. "Why can't you just let your brother be happy?"

"Because I know you're going to hurt him," Sharpay said, simply. "You weren't here to deal with him after you outted him that morning, but I was. You hurt him deeply, Troy, and I don't want to see that happen to my brother, again."

"Are you sure you're not jealous?" Troy asked, raising his eyebrow. "After all, Gabi had broken up with me the previous week. I mean, I'd guess if any time would've been the chance, that would've been. And instead, I end up with your brother. The straight jock, who went gay for your brother."

"I am not jealous!" Sharpay said, her voice getting louder. "That is so absurd; I would _never_ be jealous of my _gay_ brother!"

"Fine," Troy said, shrugging. "So you're just concerned about Ryan out of the goodness of your heart. You'll forgive me if I sound a bit sceptical."

"I don't really care what you think of me," Sharpay said, shrugging. "No matter what you say or believe, I am not some evil-hearted bitch; I actually care about my brother a lot. He's my twin, for God's sakes! He's like my other half!"

"Oh, I know you care about him," Troy replied. "I'm just saying that there's more to it than that." Troy shrugged. "But let's get down to brass tacks, here. You may not agree with Ryan's decision, but _he_ chose to give me another chance and forgive me… and it was _his_ choice that we go out. His choice, Sharpay, and all this plotting behind his back is just hurting him."

"And you're not hurting him?" Sharpay demanded. "You treat him like a dirty little secret! You ignore him at school, and pretend you barely know him!"

Not anymore," Troy said, sighing. "You are right, I was treating him like that, and he called me on it." Troy managed to smile. "So I told my mother, my father has pretty much figured it out… and Ryan and I spent the evening at the ice rink, holding hands. I'm sure it's already spread throughout the entire East High student body that we're official."

Sharpay looked at him, actually shocked. "You… you actually did that?"

"I sure did," Troy said, proudly. "It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, and honestly, I'm not sure how well my parents are reacting to it…" Troy sighed. "But Ryan deserves to be treated like the great guy he is, not as some dirty secret."

Sharpay was silent, for a moment. "You're right," she finally said, surprisingly. "If my brother is happy, and you're making him happy… I'm not sure I feel right standing in the way of that." Then Sharpay pointed one lacquered fingernail at him. "But hurt him again, Troy, and there won't be enough left of you to fill a shoebox."

The thing was, Troy was fairly certain he believed her. After all, she did probably have enough money to hire a hitman or something. But no pressure, right? Besides, hurting Ryan was the last thing Troy wanted to do. "Thanks, Sharpay," Troy said, genuinely. The blonde turned to go back into her room. "Wait, I was wondering if I could ask your help with something."

"Fashion?" Sharpay said, casting a critical eye on his wardrobe. "The shirt's ok, but my lord, Troy, do you even know what an iron is?" Troy just blushed. "Oh, God," Sharpay exclaimed, suddenly. "You and… Okay, I don't want to know any more, Bolton. He's my brother, and I just don't want to hear any more." Then her eyes widened even further. "And your neck… ah!! No more questions!"

"Not fashion advice," Troy mumbled, mortified to the extreme. He pulled his collar up to hide his neck. "I was wondering if I could get your help… on fucking with Jason and Gabi."

Sharpay gave him a sharp look. "You… really mean that," she said, shaking her head. "That's… wow, Troy, my brother really is a good influence on you!"

"Or a bad influence, it depends on which way you look at it," Troy said, ruefully. "Doesn't matter, though. I'm tired of the fact that those two have been jerking me, and Ryan for that matter, around for so long. But I can't really hurt Gabriella much without looking like some stupid guy bitter about losing his girlfriend, and punching Cross is like hitting a punching bag- it really doesn't do much damage. He's already stupid and ugly, what more could be done?"

"Very true," Sharpay agreed. "Well, we could always use what I found out from the family detective…' she trailed off, as if unsure whether Ryan had told him or not.

"I'd like to avoid spreading Gabi's pregnancy around the school," Troy admitted. "Your brother has views about that, and I want to respect his wishes." Troy shrugged. "But surely you could come up something else. Unless, of course, your reputation's exaggerated…"

"Nice touch, Bolton," Sharpay said, dryly. "That old 'challenge somebody's reputation so they feel compelled to prove it' gambit. I'm going to do it, anyway. I think it sounds like fun…" Sharpay rubbed his hands together, much like an evil mastermind. Troy found the comparison oddly appropriate.

"Plus…" Troy said, now on shakier ground, since he was bringing up a sore subject, "it may have been my fault in the end, but Gabi was the one who spread the picture around, and from what I gathered Cross probably took it." Troy shrugged. "This way you can at least punish somebody for that night."

"And Cross was the one who was saying the worst things about Ryan," Sharpay said, speculatively. "Say no more, Troy. They'll rue the day they crossed me and my brother!"

At this point, Troy realized that he should probably be feeling more remorse that he set Sharpay Evans on those two backstabbers, but he really wasn't. They were long overdue for some major payback. "Oh, and Sharpay?" Troy added. Sharpay turned around yet again. "I'm supposed to be having dinner over here on Sunday night."

"Ryan's introducing you to our parents," Sharpay gasped, instantly realizing. "Wow, Troy, you sure don't go into things halfway. Got your wedding registry finished, yet?" she continued, smirking. "I'll be here that night… and I _guess_ I'll be supporting you two," she added, begrudgingly. "I still think you should've given me one more shot before you went to the dark side," Sharpay said, but with an actual smile on her face.

"That's funny," Troy said, returning the smile. "According to Ryan, the dark side is for you hetero types."

"Well, I'll just have to have a discussion about that with my brother," Sharpay said, tilting her head back haughtily. "Good night, Troy." She once again turned to enter her room again.

"Sharpay?" The blonde turned, sighing.

"Now what, Troy?" Troy could tell her patience was rapidly diminishing.

"Thanks," Troy said, smiling genuinely at her. Sharpay's sharp gaze softened, as she smiled back at him and finally entered her room. Troy quickly took care of his business in the bathroom, and made his way back to Ryan's room. The blonde hadn't moved since Troy had left, but as soon as Troy started clearing off the bed so that Ryan could sleep more peacefully, his boyfriend stirred.

"What're you doing, Troy?" Ryan asked, sleepily.

"Just cleaning up a little," Troy said, continuing. "This way it'll be easier for you to sleep."

"You, too, Troy," Ryan said, groggily. "You need to sleep, too."

"Don't worry, I took a look at the guest bedroom you pointed out to me, earlier. It'll do me fine." Troy put the empty McDonalds bags in the trash. "I don't suppose you have like a plain white t-shirt I could borrow to sleep in? And speaking of changing, you'll probably want to change out of those clothes of yours, too."

"I've got shirts," Ryan said, yawning as he attempted to sit up. "But…" Ryan patted the empty place in the bed beside him. "You don't need to use the guest room…" Ryan started unbuttoning his shirt.

"But your parents… and Sharpay…," Troy protested weakly. "And I do need to get some sleep."

"Now whose mind is in the gutter?" Ryan said, managing to raise an eyebrow even while half asleep. "I just want to sleep, Troy. You slept right here a month ago, and you weren't even my boyfriend, then. Please, Troy?" Ryan put on his best puppy dog look.

"Stop that," Troy said, trying to look away. "You know how much that affects me. Seriously, Ryan, stop that." Ryan got up from the bed, and put his arms around Troy's middle, looking up at him imploringly. Finally, Troy threw his hands up in the air. "Fine! You win. I'll lock the door, just to make sure nobody spots us."

"Yes!" Ryan crowed, looking triumphant. He tossed his shirt in the laundry basket just inside his large closet, and soon had his pants in there, as well.

"You are so spoiled," Troy grumbled good-naturedly. Locking the door, Troy took off his own shirt and jeans and following Ryan's gesture, put them in the laundry basket as well.

"I ate your greasy fast food tonight," Ryan pointed out. "Under protest, but I ate it. So you owe me, Bolton." Then Ryan looked down, bashfully. "I've only had like two boyfriends, and I never got to spend enough time with them to cuddle or do anything like that. That's all I want, tonight."

Troy couldn't help but walk over and plant a kiss on Ryan's cheek. "Then cuddling you shall have," Troy said, softly. Ryan smiled shyly at Troy, before giving him a similar kiss. As Ryan got into the bed, Troy turned the TV and DVD player off, and the main ceiling light. All that was left was a small bedside lamp on a nightstand. Troy joined Ryan in his large king-sized bed, as Ryan leaned over and turned off the light, leaving them in nearly total darkness, apart from a few assorted electronic devices. Troy had barely gotten settled in bed when a warm body had immediately latched itself onto him, a soft head of blonde hair resting on Troy's muscled, bare chest. Troy smiled, and put his arm around Ryan, pulling him closer.

"This is nice," Ryan said, his voice already soft. Troy could tell that the blonde was fading fast. "Guess I was sleeping like this that one night… according to that picture… don't remember that. This is so much nicer than that… you're so warm."

"I'm glad you were so persuasive," Troy said, smiling gently. "That guest bed would've been cold by myself."

"Didn't want you to sleep alone," Ryan muttered. "Didn't want to sleep alone, either. Not when I have my Troy here…" Ryan clenched Troy tight for a while, possessively. "Night, Troy…"

"Good night, Ryan," Troy said, softly. Before long, he could feel Ryan's rhythmic breathing on his chest, and he knew that the smaller boy was fast asleep. Troy was rather tired, himself, but his mind was still preoccupied with the whirlwind that was his life. His parents weren't happy with his relationship with Ryan, and his ex-girlfriend was pregnant with the baby of his former friend. One of the guys he had once trusted implicitly. Well, for that matter, Troy had once felt the same way about Gabriella, before she started pulling back from him. Troy looked down; his eyes had adjusted enough to see the dark outline of his boyfriend, sleeping peacefully, contentedly, on Troy's chest. The reason behind Troy's actions and decisions, Troy found it so hard to regret what he had done when he was with his blonde. Ryan made everything worth it, to Troy. And with those happier thoughts in his mind, a warm body keeping him warm as well, Troy peacefully slipped into slumber.

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So, just to make things clear, the speed bumps are the metaphorical kind, the bumps in the relationship that you can get over if you proceed over it correctly.

And let me just say, I am not often a fan of fluff… and yet, my boys wouldn't stop it with the fluff, and I couldn't make them stop.. So I hope everybody enjoyed!!

Plz review!! They encourage me greatly!!

Squall


	16. What If I Can't Say the Words?

A/N: So, this'll be a short a/n, since I'm rather tired, but I wanted to publish this chapter before I headed to bed. I've gotten a decent response towards my one-shot Chyan, One Last Phone Call, so thank you to those of you who read it. This chapter's another long one; this must be why I'm unable to write these things as quickly as I used to..

Oh, and best wishes to Mr. Efron, as he recovers from appendicitis. Since most reports indicate that the appendectomy was an emergency procedure, he was most likely in a fair amount of pain beforehand. So I hope he gets well. After all, how else would he be able to meet me… and give me Lucas' phone number? (well, I wouldn't really complain if I got Zac's number instead; you _have_ seen those abs, right? But the silly ponytail? Not sure I can back you up on that.)

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

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Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 16 - What If I Can't Say the Words?

It was a bright Saturday morning, and Troy Bolton was in that hazy state between awake and asleep. And enjoying it, quite a bit. There was a sleeping body draped across him, but Troy, instead of being freaked out, just sighed contentedly.

Unfortunately, the peace and quiet was interrupted by the sounds of a cell phone ringing. Troy, his mind suddenly trying to figure out what the bleeding hell was going on, sought to discover the location of this noise, and put an end to it. Then he could go back to sleep, with his blonde boyfriend still cuddling up to him. His boyfriend, Troy thought with a smile. Oh, shit. His cell phone was still ringing. Luckily, Troy figured out that it was on the nightstand next to him; he wouldn't even have to get up! As Troy reached for it, trying not to awaken the sleeping Ryan, he absently noticed that his phone didn't look quite the same as it had the night before, and he was also fairly certain that he didn't have a Phantom of the Opera ringtone, but somehow he knew that it must be his. Troy picked it up and read the caller ID. Hey, it was Chad!

"Hello," Troy said, his voice rough and scratchy. "What's up, Chad? It's gotta be like six o'clock in the morning or something."

"Dude, it's like eleven," Chad informed him, his voice full of suppressed laughter. "And I guess there's no need to ask if Troy got any, last night."

"What are you talking about?" Troy said, trying to jar himself awake. "Why would you say that?"

"Troy, dude, you went on a date with your boyfriend last night, you're still with him the next morning… and you answer his cell phone," Chad said, smirking. "That's code for, Troy got laid!"

"This… this is Ryan's phone?" Troy asked, and looked at it for a second. And looked at it again. He'd known that something hadn't been quite right with it, but the pieces hadn't fallen into place yet. "That would explain the Phantom of the Opera ringtone," Troy said to himself. "Though I never thought that Ryan was a fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber."

"I'm really not fond of him," Ryan mumbled against Troy's bare skin. "But Danforth's mother loves Phantom; thought it would be appropriate." Apparently, even half asleep, Ryan still had firm opinions about the works of Mr. Webber. Troy wasn't all that surprised, to be honest.

"Did you just say my ringtone is the Phantom of the Opera?" Chad asked, indignantly. "Do you know how tired I am of opening the fridge and being greeted by the face of Michael Crawford?"

"I'm guessing Ryan did," Troy said, smiling down at the boy's pale form. It appeared as if Ryan was back asleep, but Troy was fairly certain that he was just laying there listening to the conversation and Chad's loud voice, waiting to put in his two cents. "But I just spent the night here; it was a completely innocent night in Ryan's bed." Of course, Troy wasn't going to mention Ryan's convertible.

"Well, apparently you're in trouble for not sleeping over here," Chad said, his tone more serious. "Your mom called us up this morning and asked my mom if you'd spent the night. Sorry, bud. I would've covered for you, no problem, but your mother's too smart for that. Zeke called me about five minutes later; seems his dad was asked the same question." Chad paused. "What the hell is going on, Troy? Why were you supposed to stay the night at my place, dude?"

Troy groaned. Apparently his mother wasn't going to leave anything to chance. This was definitely not a hopeful sign that his mother was going to be cool with his choice of partner. "I told my mom about Ryan last night," Troy admitted. "I don't think she's taking it too well. We argued about it last night, and in the end, she didn't want me coming home. Otherwise we'd just argue more. I just mentioned staying at your place, and she suggested that I do that."

"And you didn't," Chad stated. "Can't say I blame you, though. I'm sure you had more fun with Ryan than you would've had with me." Troy could practically see the smirk on Chad's face. "Sorry, bud, I don't swing that way."

"Shame," Ryan murmured. "I bet he would be dynamite in bed." Troy slapped Ryan upside the head, but lightly. Ryan just smirked.

"Anyway, Troy, I tried your phone already," Chad continued, unaware of Ryan's comment, "but I guess you didn't hear it; that's why I tried Ryan. Thought you might have gotten lucky last night," Chad added, snickering. "I was wondering if you wanted to grab lunch today. Zeke's up for it, too. Got something to show you; something you'll probably want to see."

"That's what he said," Ryan mumbled, snickering. Troy chuckled, but noticed something about Chad's invite. And somebody that it had left out.

"So that's it, Chad?" Troy asked, a little annoyed. "Can you think of what you're missing there?"

"Dude, what the hell are you talking about?" Chad asked, confused.

"Chad, I'm spending time with my boyfriend right now, and you're interrupting that to invite just me to lunch? _That's_ what I'm talking about! " Ryan's eyes opened wide, and he looked up with concern at the tone of Troy's voice.

"Dude," Chad protested. "You don't understand… Evans is more than welcome. I just didn't know I had to issue a special invite for him. I figured you two were a packaged deal."

"Oh…," Troy mumbled, mortified to the extreme. He had totally just jumped down Chad's throat for being insensitive towards his boyfriend, when in fact Chad seemed to be taking things better than Troy himself was.

Ryan grabbed the phone out of Troy's hand, quickly. "Sorry about that, Chad," Ryan said, frowning towards Troy. "He's still unsure about his place in things, since he's all gay now." Ryan grinned at Troy. "When you get bad responses, especially from your parents, it can make you kinda touchy. You're afraid that people will act badly, so you start to expect it, too. I know he appreciates your friendship, Chad; I know I definitely appreciate it."

"Thanks, Ryan," Chad said, his voice clearly relieved. And he didn't sound pissed off either, at Troy's outburst. And once again Troy thanked the heavens that he had such a great boyfriend. And an understanding best friend. "I meant what I said, though. You're just as welcome as Troy is, anytime; more so, probably. After all, you're the nice one."

Ryan laughed at that one. "That's just because you know how my sister is; compared to her, everybody's nicer. You haven't seen my devious side yet, Chad. _That's _how devious I am. Troy's a good boy in comparison to me." Then Ryan laughed, delighted. "But I'm working on that. He said he wants to get revenge on people who've been fuckin' with us."

"Can I help?" Chad asked. "Especially if we're talking about Jason Cross. Maybe Gabi, too."

"Sounds good, Chad," Ryan said, smiling. He handed the phone back to Troy, who was holding his hand out for the phone, like a little kid. Ryan expressed as much, too.

"Sorry about yelling at you, Chad," Troy said, still feeling bad about it. "I guess it just felt like those times when we would hang without our girlfriends, you know; it was just us guys."

"And Evans is a guy, too," Chad pointed out. "So why wouldn't he be welcomed?"

"Yeah, Troy," Ryan said, his eyes narrowed. "I _am_ a guy. I mean, you're not comparing me to a girl, are you? Or, even worse, comparing me to Gabi?"

"I am totally just digging myself even deeper," Troy groaned. "I give up!"

"You're too easy," Ryan said, smirking. "But I found that out last night, didn't I?" Troy sputtered, unable to frame a response. "You look so cute when you're flustered," Ryan whispered into Troy's ear. Troy couldn't help but shiver at those lightly spoken words, feeling that shiver travel all the way down his back. Or, more precisely, to his groin.

"So, where do you want to meet?" Troy asked, trying to ignore how Ryan had just made him feel. And trying to ignore the fact that Ryan was now moving his soft hands around Troy's chest, in wide, slow circles.

"Zeke suggested Jack-in-the-Box," Chad said, "and I thought that sounded good."

Troy heard Ryan groan, and looked at his boyfriend, who had stopped moving his hands as he grimaced at the thought.

"Errrm," Troy found himself saying, "Ryan's not a big fan of fast food. I made him eat McDonalds last night, and he complained the whole time." Ryan slapped Troy's stomach lightly upon hearing that; Troy just smiled and shrugged unrepentantly.

"Really?" Chad said, sounding a little disappointed. "Zeke said that Sharpay doesn't like it, either, but I was hoping Ryan didn't mind it too much." Chad sighed. "Well, that sucks… I sorta looking forward to having lunch with you guys, but I, ummm… can't really afford anything pricey." Chad sounded embarrassed at having to admit that. Especially within earshot of Ryan.

Ryan sighed. "Give me the phone." Troy handed it to him, wordlessly. "I'll make you a deal, Chad. I'll eat your Jack-in-the-Box food today, and I won't even protest. In exchange, next Saturday, you have to come to lunch with Troy and me, and I get to pick the restaurant and pick up the cost. How does that sound?"

"Dude, that deal is, like, amazing!" Chad said, his voice excited. "That's, like, a win-win situation for me! What time do you want to meet?"

"Let's say, one o'clock," Ryan said, after pausing for a moment. "Troy and I should be done by then; Troy doesn't last too long, I'm afraid to say." Troy's face blushed crimson, as he stared at Ryan with wide eyes.

"Ahh!!! Too much information!" Chad yelled. "I don't want to hear about that, Ryan! I'll see you at one! Troy knows which place we go to! Bye!" With a click, Chad hung up.

There was an audible silence, as Troy continued staring at Ryan, then the spell was broken. "Why the hell did you tell him that!" Troy yelled, angry. "I can't believe you'd embarrass me like that!"

"I just needed Chad to hang up the phone quick," Ryan said, shrugging. "I didn't want him to know he'd been played."

"I… you… what?" Troy said, his thought processes derailed. "That… that business with the restaurant?'

Ryan grinned. "I told him I was devious; he didn't believe me, obviously, but that shows how much he knows." Ryan sat up in bed, so that he was eye level with Troy. "See, I've been trying to get Danforth to accept a nice lunch with me for a while," Ryan explained. "You've had lunch with me before, a few times, and I went with Zeke once or twice, too. It's something I like to do with friends, and now that Chad's been such a big help lately, I _really_ wanted to take him to lunch."

"But Chad's touchy about that sort of thing," Troy said, realizing. "He doesn't mind earning money, but one hint of the word 'charity' or anything like that and he gets pretty angry. Even about a simple thing like treating him to lunch."

"Exactly," Ryan said, nodding. "So this way, he think I'm doing him a favour by eating Jack-in-the-Box, and he's just repaying the favour by letting me take him to a place that has food that I like. Not at all like charity, see?" Ryan grinned. "So instead of just giving in, which I could've done- I wasn't about to say no to him, when it's obvious that Chad really wanted to have lunch with us- I got something out of the bargain, instead."

"So the aversion to fast food is just an act?" Troy asked, trying to keep up.

"Not at all," Ryan said, grimacing. "I'll have to spend a good part of my night doing my yoga; fast food clogs up the body, in so many ways. And two meals in a row of it?" Ryan smiled softly at Troy. "You're just lucky I like you so damned much." Then his grin grew wider. "But _you_ will be hearing about it on the ride to and from that palace of grease."

"Oh, joy," Troy said, rolling his eyes. "You didn't need to tell Chad that I don't last long, though. He's never going to let me live that down."

"Au contraire," Ryan said, wagging his finger back and forth. "Danforth is okay with you being with me, but he doesn't want to hear details. Or think about them, either. So all you have to do is not bring it up, and he won't either." Ryan shrugged. "And that just has to last till the end of our lunch, today. Once he's eaten, he won't duck out on next week's lunch date. So telling him I played him and made up that stuff about you won't change that."

"You _are_ clever," Troy said, a touch of admiration in his voice. "But let's see how you manage to get out of this!" With that, Troy lunged for Ryan, who squeaked as Troy's heavier body landed on him. "I neglected to ask you, Ryan," Troy said in Ryan's ear, his mouth brushing up against Ryan's lobe. Ryan shivered at the sensation. "Are you… ticklish?" With that, Troy began his assault on Ryan's sides.

"No!" Ryan managed to say, trying to fend off the brunette who was attacking him mercilessly with his fingers, tickling Ryan's sides. "No, stop it, Troy!"

"Not until you tell Chad that I'm, like, a sex god that could last all day," Troy said, unrelenting. "And that the only reason we'll be ready at one is that you can't keep up with my sexual prowess."

"Never!" Ryan panted, pushing at Troy's body with both hands, trying to catch Troy's hands in his own to stop him, anything to stop the tickling. Then Ryan, getting a burst of inspiration, pinched Troy's nipples hard. Troy made a ear-piercing sound that, even to his own ears, sounded like a girl screeching, and immediately stopped the tickling to protect his nipples from further attack. Ryan was too quick for him, though; the blonde saw his opportunity and pushed at Troy with all of his might. Troy soon found himself on his back, Ryan straddling his waist. Troy tried to reach Ryan's sides to tickle him again, but Ryan quickly caught Troy's hands in his.

"Oh, I am so going to get you for that," Troy said, his threat rather ruined by the grin on his face. "Tittie-twister is so cheating, Evans."

"I use what I've got," Ryan said, smiling right back. "And, well… since we're already here…" Ryan shifted forward until he was looking down into Troy's eyes, holding Troy's still captive hands above his head. Leaning down, Ryan caught Troy's lips with his, for a brief kiss. "I've been wanting to do that since I woke up," Ryan confessed. "Troy… last night… I can't recall a night where I slept more peacefully." Then Ryan smirked. "That means you're now required to sleep in my bed, every night."

"I'll see what I can do," Troy said, softly. "For all I know, my dad might kick me out, and I'll end up over here quite a bit." Troy bit his lip, nervously.

"Troy, you know you're welcome over here any time," Ryan said. "But I hope… I think it's going to go better than that. Your parents love you, Troy. It may take some time for them to get used to the idea, but I'm sure they will." Ryan looked straight into Troy's eyes. "But no matter what, I'll be here for you. You're my boyfriend, and you're not alone in this." Ryan kissed Troy's forehead, gently. "And you've got Chad and Zeke backing you up, too. It'll be ok, Troy, you'll see." Letting go of Troy's hands, Ryan used one hand to prop himself up while he used the other to tenderly brush a few stray hairs away from Troy's eyes.

Troy didn't say a single word, but instead wrapped his arms around Ryan and drew him down for a kiss. Ryan opened his mouth immediately to accept Troy's questing tongue, their bare chests pressed up against each other. Troy's hands explored Ryan's smooth, pale back, as Ryan's little rosebud mouth felt so good, so right pressed up against his own lips.

Troy reluctantly broke off their kiss to come up for air, his eyes opening to look at his blonde. Ryan's face was flushed, his hair terribly askew. Troy's hands had somehow found themselves inside Ryan's boxers, grasping his ass. Time seemed to stand still as Troy gazed into Ryan's eyes; it seemed well nigh impossible for Troy to think about any of the problems in his life when Ryan was pressed up against him, looking at him with those soulful eyes of his.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Ryan finally said, huskily. "You claimed you're a sex god; prove it, Bolton."

Troy grinned. And prove it he would. He'd have Ryan yelling it out, by the time he was done. And they'd definitely have to tell Chad that they'd be running late.

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"It's the Jack-in-the-Box on Lincoln Avenue, isn't it?" Ryan asked, a smile on his face as he unlocked the door of his blue convertible.

"Yeah, that's the one," Troy said, sighing before getting into Ryan's car. Ryan might have been smiling and acting like nothing was wrong, but Troy knew much better than that. This was the East High's Drama King, after all; it was only Troy's much-improved skill of reading Ryan's eyes and picking up his emotions that way, that let him know that Ryan was quite upset, and seemed rather hurt. And it was completely and utterly Troy's fault. Less than twenty four hours after Troy had told Sharpay he wasn't going to hurt her brother again, and he'd already managed to do it. That had to be some kind of record.

It had been going so well, thus far. They had been laying in Ryan's bed, basking in the afterglow. Ryan was, once again, using Troy's chest as a pillow; he seemed to rather enjoy laying his head there; truth be told, Troy liked having Ryan that close to him as well. Ryan had brought up the question of what Chad wanted to show Troy- and had had a good laugh over that, once again. Then Ryan had wondered aloud what he was going to wear. Troy had teased him about that, and how he was going to spend so much time picking out an outfit, just to meet Chad and Zeke? Troy thought they were great friends, but fashion critics they weren't. Then Ryan had said it. Troy was sure Ryan had meant it almost jokingly; in fact, Troy had said it more than once to friends, trying to be funny. But once out of Ryan's lips, and directed at Troy, he had taken it seriously. Too seriously. And now Ryan was upset with him, but not as much as Troy had been upset with himself.

_'You know you love me, anyway' _had been what Ryan had said. Such a simple comment, wasn't it? But Troy had floundered, and was fairly certain he had looked like a deer in the headlights. Ryan had been looking at Troy as he said it, with that smile on his face that he seemed to reserve only for Troy.

'But what should I have done?' Troy asked himself. 'Told him I loved him? I don't know if I do, yet. Isn't it too early to use the l-word? Fuck!' Ryan had sat up abruptly as he beheld the look on Troy's face. To be honest, besides the deer look, Troy wasn't actually sure which emotion his face was betraying, but whatever Ryan saw, it upset him. Ryan had been off the bed quickly, muttering something about taking a shower. Alone was the obvious point he was making. Such a far cry from Ryan's earlier suggestion that they conserve water by taking a shower together. As soon as Ryan had left the room, Troy had buried his face in his hands. He should have done something, said something before Ryan had left. Ryan had said it almost jokingly; maybe Troy should've responded in kind, and answered with a comeback. Instead, Ryan was off by himself, thinking God knows what. No matter how much time they'd spent together, and no matter how much time Troy had taken to try to understand Ryan and his thought processes, Troy was still a rank amateur when it came to that. When he chose to be, Ryan was a closed book as far as Troy was concerned. Ryan had seemed so confident when he was around Troy, but at the same time, there were instances when the confidence had fallen, and Troy believed he had gotten glimpses of the real Ryan Evans. Or was that just a veneer as well, and maybe there were even deeper layers to the blond? Troy wouldn't doubt it at all.

Troy had almost been hoping for Ryan to yell at him or something, when he came back. Some honest showing of emotion, so Troy could figure out where he was coming from, and respond accordingly. Not his blonde actor of a boyfriend, though. When Ryan had come from his shower, he had been all smiles, letting Troy know that he could take a shower, and that he'd find something clean for Troy to wear. He'd even smirked, telling Troy that he was wondering how pastels would look on him. And a hat, definitely. Troy had tried to bring up what had happened before, to apologize, to clarify- he really wasn't sure what he was trying to do, but he didn't even get a chance to. Ryan had given him a smile, albeit a fake smile, and had told him it was no big deal. That Troy didn't have to worry about it. But Troy could tell it was a big deal. Troy _knew _it was a big deal.

The car ride was pretty awkward, at least from Troy's point of view. Ryan had chatted, his tone friendly enough, about the previous night's ice skating, about the dinner that Troy had been invited to on Sunday night. He didn't bring that afternoon up, though, and Troy, besides offering a few brief answers to Ryan's inquiries, stayed silent.

By the time the couple arrived at Jack-in-the-Box, Troy could already see Chad's car parked in the parking lot. Since Zeke's car was in the shop, as usual, Troy was sure that he had gotten a ride with Chad. His guess was correct when he and Ryan reached the door to the restaurant and found both Zeke and Chad waiting for them at a table, with a shopping bag from the mall.

"S'up, dude," Chad said, slapping Troy on the back with a grin on his face. "What happened to your neck, dude?" Troy flushed bright red; Chad was going to give him shit about this for a long time to come, he knew it. In the meantime, Chad had turned to Ryan, and with a friendly smile on his face, clapped him on the back as well, with perhaps a touch less force than he had for Troy. "Hey, Evans. How's it going?"

Troy inwardly winced, but Ryan's smile didn't flicker for a second. "I'm doing fine, Chad," he responded, sounding as if he actually meant that. "Thanks for inviting me to the House of Cholesterol, by the way. I'll be sure to find an appropriate, more health-conscious place to eat, next Saturday." Ryan's smile was wry, not giving any hint that he was still playing Chad.

"Looking forward to it," Chad said, a grin on his face.

Zeke, in the mean time, had already exchanged handgrips with Troy, and now greeted Ryan, familiarly. Since Zeke was Sharpay's on-again off-again boyfriend, the two boys had had more time to get used to each other than, perhaps, Ryan and Chad had. Or Ryan and Troy, for that matter. Well, until Troy had started to hang out with Ryan a lot more, after Gabi had started acting strange. And definitely before Troy had started dating Ryan. By now, of course, Troy would say that he knew the blonde better than anybody who wasn't actually related to him. To the extent that anybody could know the enigma that was Ryan Evans.

The four boys, all quite hungry, wasted no time in ordering their food, and were soon seated at a booth with their food. Troy, in an attempt to make peace, had paid for Ryan's food; Ryan had thanked Troy genuinely enough, but Troy knew that things still weren't right in Troy and Ryan Land.

"So, Troy, I noticed you paid for Ryan's food," Zeke said, his mouth full of burger. "I see he's got you trained, already." Troy flipped him the bird.

"If I'd known Troy was going to be such a doting boyfriend, I wouldn't have been so quick to rule things out," Chad responded, smirking.

"See, Troy?" Ryan said, daintily nibbling on a French fry. "I told you, it's only a matter of time before he asks for a threesome. I give it three weeks, tops, before he's at our door, begging to be included."

"What?!" Chad exclaimed, as he choked on his food. Zeke had to pound him on the back. Troy, even given his preoccupation with the situation between Ryan and himself, couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, it is a thought," Troy said, as if considering it for a minute. "But we wouldn't want Zeke to feel left out."

"I swear, Evans is definitely a bad influence on you, Troy," Chad said, shaking his head. "I take back what I said earlier, Ryan; you are definitely _not_ the nice one, corrupting our friend like this." Chad smirked. "And don't think I can't guess where that other hand of yours is, Ryan."

Troy, for one, knew all too well where it was, since it wasn't where he wanted it. Ryan's hand was just under the table, resting on his own leg, but to Chad and Zeke, who were sitting across from them, it looked as if it was probably resting on Troy's leg. Yet another gesture that, last week, Troy would have been scared to have somebody witness. And now, Troy would've wanted everybody to see Ryan's hand on his leg, in his own hand, anything.

"Anyway, here's what prompted the lunch idea," Chad said, after taking another huge bite of his sandwich. "I wanted you two to see it before you get back to school on Monday." Chad wiped his hands off, before reaching into his pocket for a folded up piece of paper.

"Oh, God, another picture," Troy groaned. "Why do we go to school with so many paparazzi?"

"Well, this one isn't too bad," Zeke interjected, shrugging. "I mean, if you two are already like that in public…" He gestured towards Ryan's absent hand. "Somebody e-mailed it to me, this morning; I'm pretty sure it's been passed all around the East High student body by now."

Troy opened up the paper to find, as he suspected, another picture. This one looked to have been taken by a cell phone or something, at the ice rink. It wasn't the easiest to make out the two figures, since the lighting was dim, but Ryan's hat and stylish clothes made him stand out, and Troy could see the hint of blonde hair as well. As for him… his face looked fuzzy, but there was no mistaking him. It was a picture of Troy and Ryan were skating, as a couple, and holding hands.

"Mind sending me the e-mail?" Ryan asked, casually. "It looks like a good picture to have on my desktop."

Chad actually chuckled. "Zeke was right; it takes a lot more than that to throw you off, Evans."

"Last night was fun," Troy said, quietly, and all three heads turned towards him. "I'm glad this picture was taken. Now I don't have to tell anybody at school, cuz they'll already know. So it won't be a surprise when I walk down the hall with Ryan, holding hands."

Ryan's smile was happy enough, though the happiness didn't quite reach his eyes. Troy could tell Ryan was still upset, but not quite as upset as before. Troy reached over and took Ryan's hand in his, a look of pleading actually crossing his face, hoping it was ok. Troy could act as nonchalant as he wanted, but inside he was still scared to death that he'd fucked up majorly, with Ryan, with his parents, with his being outted at school. Troy wanted- no, needed- his rock. His strength. His blonde dancer of a boyfriend.

Troy was actually quite surprised when Ryan, instead of jerking his hand away, actually clenched Troy's tightly. Troy looked over at Ryan, confused. Wasn't Ryan mad at him? If nothing else, Troy couldn't understand why Ryan actually looked relieved when Troy had taken his hand. Surely he didn't think that Troy was mad at him, for some reason. Right? God, Troy was confused. Troy sighed and as Ryan leaned in closer to Troy, closing the gap between them, he pushed his confusion to the back of his mind. He had to focus on what Chad and Zeke were saying. And not on what Ryan _wasn't_ saying.

"Um, there's more," Chad said, finally, looking over at Zeke with a conspiratorial grin. "Since everybody's gonna be staring at you on Monday, I thought I'd help you out, and give them something to stare at."

"What?" Troy asked, confused. "What the hell are you talking about, Chad?"

"Chad and I pooled our money together, and got you something," Zeke clarified. "Sort of our way of showing you that we support you."

Troy was taken aback. Neither Chad nor Zeke really had the cash to blow on frivolous things; Chad's money was spent keeping his car legal and on the road, while most of Zeke's money was spent just trying to keep his car out of the shop. Troy also knew that Ryan had been tempted, countless times, to help them out, if even a little, but had forced himself to stay out. So for his friends to spend money like this, just to show support for them, something that they had already proven, a dozen times over, was unheard of.

"I know what you're thinking, Bolton," Chad said, smiling. "Something along the lines of, you shouldn't have? You're right, we didn't have to. We wanted to." Then Chad grinned. "I think it was the fact that when we saw them, we just couldn't pass them up." With that, he reached into the bag and handed Troy and Ryan each their own plastic carrier bag. It felt like a shirt, to Troy. And as he opened it up, Troy's guess had been correct; it was a shirt, and a royal-blue one, at that. One of those novelty shirts that Chad liked to wear.

Troy held it up, trying to find the front; Ryan who was watching Troy before opening his own, read it first and started chuckling. Troy turned it around, and couldn't help but laugh as well. In nice, bold letters, Troy's shirt proclaimed _"I'm Not Gay, But My Boyfriend Is."_

"We told ya, Troy," Zeke said, smirking. "That shirt was made for you!"

"Well, I'd love to see my mother's face when it get dirty and ends up in the laundry," Troy said, drily. "I'm sure she'll appreciate the humour."

"Just wash it yourself, then, Troy," Ryan commented, quietly.

"What does yours say?" Troy asked, instead. Ryan shrugged and pulled out his own sky-blue t-shirt. This one read _"Closets Are For Clothes - Really Fabulous Clothes!"_ Troy smirked. "That shirt totally fits you, Ryan."

"See?" Chad exclaimed triumphantly. "I couldn't pass them up."

"Thanks, Chad," Ryan said, softly. "Thanks, Zeke. It means a lot that you thought about us, today. We couldn't do this without you." Chad and Zeke seemed to appreciate Ryan's comment, but Troy looked over at his boyfriend, a little alarmed. Troy could've sworn he seemed almost… sad. At that moment, Troy wanted nothing more than to grab Ryan by the shoulders and shake him until he told Troy what was wrong.

The rest of the lunch passed by rather quickly, as Chad and Zeke recounted their morning at the mall, and Troy briefly told them about the ice skating, though he left out the part where he fell on his ass, repeatedly, and definitely the part where he and Ryan had hot, sweaty sex in his convertible. And the part where Troy had apparently fucked up, royally. Though he still wasn't quite sure what he'd done. And all the while, Ryan, despite chatting amiably enough and chiming in with his memories of the night before, was still giving off waves of sadness. Zeke seemed oblivious to it, but Chad had picked up on it, a little, at least when he noticed Troy frowning and looking at his boyfriend all the time.

It was around two when Zeke finally told the guys that he had some chores to do around his house, and couldn't stay any longer.

"But I'm hosting a party on Friday," he announced, proudly. "You two are at the top of the list of people I'm inviting. And anybody who has a problem with you two, shouldn't bother coming."

Troy opened his mouth as if to protest that Zeke didn't have to go that far, but Ryan spoke first. "Don't worry, Troy," Ryan said, his voice still soft. "He's not just doing it for us; he's trying to win back Sharpay. He's trying to use his support of us to score brownie points with Sharpay."

"It's not like that," Zeke protested. "You know I'd support you guys, anyway. I'm not doing it just to win back Sharpay."

Ryan actually smiled. "I know that, Zeke," Ryan said, simply. "I know you honestly support us, and that shows you're a good guy. What's wrong with demonstrating to Sharpay that you're a good guy? Besides," Ryan said, a glint in his eye, "if you're dating her, she won't be bothering Troy and me as much." Troy nodded, fervently. Even if he'd come to some sort of a truce with the female Evans twin, his life would still be easier without her constantly butting in.

"Well, I'll run you back home, Zeke," Chad said, getting his keys out of his pockets.

"Hold on one minute, Chad," Troy said, standing up as well. "Could you stick around for just a bit?" Troy had just come to an unpleasant realisation, and he really wasn't looking forward to breaking it to Ryan.

"Sure, Troy," Chad said, more than a little confused. Troy motioned to Ryan, and the two boys walked to a deserted corner of the restaurant, Troy still holding Ryan's hand.

"There's something I've been considering all through lunch," Troy said, hesitantly. He was fudging things a little; he'd only just thought of it, but whatever. He was fairly certain this wasn't going to go well, especially considering the tender place they had found themselves in. But at the same time, Troy was afraid if he didn't go through with it, things would end up even worse than they were, now. "Would you mind if I got a ride with Chad to my house?" Troy asked, softly.

Ryan looked shocked, and more than a little hurt as he pulled his hand away from Troy. "I thought I'd be there by your side, supporting you," Ryan protested. "You shouldn't have to do this alone, Troy." Troy could see confusion in Ryan's eyes, as well as hurt. And a little bit of fear, too. Fear of something bad happening when Troy had his talk with his father?

"And I want you there by my side," Troy insisted, reaching for Ryan's hand. "But I don't want you to take the brunt of my dad's inevitable blow-up. If you're there, he's not going to listen to what I have to say, he's just going to yell at you. And… this is between my parents and me. I have to face them."

"And I think you're wrong about your father listening to you," Ryan countered. "You saw how it was, last night. If you're strong and steadfast in your convictions, your father will listen to you. Regardless if I'm there or not. And you're right, you have to face them, but you don't have to do it, alone. So I guess it comes down to whether you want your boyfriend at your side, to provide you with support that you may need." Ryan sighed. "But I don't feel like arguing, Troy. If this is what you need to do, then do it. Just don't expect me to be happy about it." Ryan seemed resigned to Troy's decision.

Troy, who had indeed been expecting a long argument, was caught off guard, and Ryan moved to rejoin their friends. "Wait, Ryan," Troy found his voice as he gently tugged on Ryan's shirt. "Please… I know I fucked up, this afternoon. Can we talk about it? I don't want to leave you this afternoon, knowing I've hurt you somehow. We said last night that we can get through all this shit, if we don't keep secrets and talk about our problems. Please, talk to me."

Ryan sighed. "Talking isn't going to help this time, Troy," Ryan said, softly. "I've already said too much, that's what the problem is. Some things, once said, can't be forgotten. You didn't fuck anything up, Troy. It was me, and I'm sorry." Ryan took Troy's hands in his own. "Good luck with your parents, Troy," Ryan said, his voice low but still sincere. "Call me and tell me how it went. I wish I could be at your side, though." Ryan sighed. Then he kissed Troy on the cheek, fondly. He then backed up, and headed back to the table where Chad and Zeke were waiting. Troy watched his back for a moment, before following him over.

"Guess there's a change of plans," Ryan said, quietly. "Troy wants to know if you can give him a ride home, Chad." Chad looked up at Ryan, alarmed at this change of events. And the implications. Ryan caught his look, and shook his head. "Please, not now, Chad. I don't feel like talking about it. But in the meantime, Zeke, I can give you a ride home. Need any help planning that party?"

"That would be awesome, Ryan!" Zeke said, enthusiastically. "I was a little worried that if my party wasn't cool enough, Sharpay wouldn't even come."

"Oh, I'll get my sister there, even if I have to drag her there," Ryan said, confidently. "Ready to go, Baylor?" Zeke nodded, and the two headed for the exit. Chad, looking at Troy, nodded towards Ryan significantly, and Troy mouthed 'tell you later' before the two followed Ryan and Zeke outside.

"So, I'll see you later, Chad," Ryan said, patting Chad on the shoulder. "Thanks for the t-shirt. Maybe I'll wear it to Zeke's party or something."

"No problem, Evans," Chad said, smiling. Then he leaned forward and murmured something in Ryan's ear that Troy didn't catch. He did see Ryan smile at Chad, and heard him thank Chad.

"I'll see you later, Troy," Ryan said, turning towards his boyfriend. "Call, ok?" he said, softly, biting his lip. Ryan looked even more nervous than Troy felt, but Troy knew that was because he was trying not to think of it.

"As soon as I can," Troy promised. Suddenly, he had an armful of blonde as Ryan was right there, hugging him tightly.

"Are you sure you don't want me there?" Ryan asked, pleadingly. "Your dad worries me, Troy. I can take whatever he would say to me. I just don't feel right about you facing them alone."

"And I wouldn't feel right subjecting you to all that," Troy said, quietly. "I'm not going to pretend to know what happened this afternoon. It feels like I'm the one who fucked up, no matter what you've said. And I'm afraid that things could get ugly with my parents, and that something they say or, more likely, something I say could fuck things up even worse between us. I'm not doing this to hurt you; I'm trying to avoid doing that, in fact."

"But by shutting me out like this, you are hurting me," Ryan said, sadly. Troy actually saw moisture forming in Ryan's eyes, as if he was struggling not to cry. "But I guess, after this afternoon, I probably brought it on myself."

"Please, let me know how I can fix this," Troy asked, pleadingly. "I don't like to see you like this, especially when I know I caused it."

"I'll be fine, Troy," Ryan tried to reassure him, even as his voice was somewhat hoarse. "Good luck." He slowly, reluctantly, broke their hug, and backed away. He had almost turned back towards his convertible and Zeke, when this time Ryan found himself pulled into Troy's arms.

"I'll call you afterwards," Troy promised. "And I'll be there for dinner with your parents, tomorrow night." Troy kissed Ryan gently on the lips. "I'm still yours," Troy said, staring into Ryan's eyes.

"Damned right you are," Ryan said, a small smile gracing his features. "And I'd recommend wearing something with a higher collar around your parents; they might not appreciate how I staked my claim.

Troy tried one last time. "Sure you can't tell me what's going on?" he asked.

"Sure you don't want me backing you up?" Ryan countered. Troy had no response to that, and not another word was spoken until Ryan and Zeke had pulled away, leaving Troy and Chad to watch them leave.

"Come on, Troy, let's head out," Chad said, nodding towards his car. Troy silently followed him and got in. It was only when they had turned onto the main street when Chad spoke again. "So, what gives, Bolton? Are you two, like, breaking up or something? Cuz it would've been nice if you told us before we bought you those shirts." Chad's voice was mostly teasing, but there was an undercurrent of seriousness in it, as well.

"God, I don't know, Chad," Troy sighed. "Last night was wonderful. It was… honestly, one of the best nights of my life." Troy glared at Chad. "And go ahead and tease me about that, I don't care."

"Good for you, dude," Chad said, smiling. "I'm still gonna fuck with you about the hickeys, though."

"Ryan said he was doing it to make sure everybody knew I was his," Troy mumbled. "But I left my own mark, too."

"And we enter the realm of 'Chad really didn't need to hear that,'" Chad said, shaking his head. "So if last night was so damned good, why all the uncomfortable looks and pauses? Why did Ryan look so damned sad? Why the hell did you want me to drive you home?! Ryan should be here with you, not me!" Chad chastised him.

"Thought you were supposed to take my side," Troy said, smiling as he shook his head. "You are supposed to be _my_ best friend, after all."

"Well, I'm Ryan's friend, too," Chad reminded him. "Probably the first real friend he's had at East High. Remember that baseball game you _didn't_ show up to?"

"Hey, I said I was sorry for being an ass!" Troy exclaimed, defensively. "You still going to hold that against me?"

"Only when I'm bored," Chad replied, grinning. "And when I don't feel like using those words from Kelsi's list. Don't think I lost that list, either. I've got that sucker laminated. I don't know why you're complaining, though. I might be able to help you out. I told Ryan before we left that if he needed somebody to talk to that wasn't a bitchy blonde twin of his, he could call me. And I'm almost certain he's going to."

Troy's mouth dropped open. "Chad, that was a great fuckin' idea you had." Troy shook his head. "Cuz it sure doesn't feel like Ryan's gonna tell me what's wrong."

"Well, why don't you tell me your side before we get to your house?" Chad asked. "That way, I'll have half the story in case Ryan calls."

"Fair enough," Troy conceded. "It all feels like my fault, but Ryan's apparently taking the blame for it. So, we were laying on Ryan's bed, after…" Troy trailed off as he realized what he had nearly said, his face turning red.

"And then," Chad rushed him along. "Let's get to important part, and skip the parts that will cause me to have nightmares for the rest of my life."

"Ryan would take that as a challenge," Troy mused, almost absentmindedly. "But I was teasing him about his wardrobe, and how he didn't have to dress to impress you and Zeke."

"Hey, we are totally worth dressing up for," Chad protested. "We may be hopeless fashion victims, but we are totally worth having Evans gussy himself up. He would dress up just to make a late-night fast food run."

"No, he wouldn't," Troy reminded him. "You are so lucky he thinks highly of you; otherwise, he wouldn't have eaten any that greasy food. You wouldn't catch Ryan making a fast food run, period."

"Well, you get my point," Chad insisted. "And considering the fact that you live off of fast food sometimes, Troy, it sounds like you have some interesting times ahead. So, continue. At this rate, we'll be sitting in your driveway for about ten minutes while you try to finish this damned story."

"So, I was teasing him," Troy repeated himself, "and then he said it." Troy sighed. "And I totally wasn't expecting it, and I know I probably had the worst reaction on my face, but I panicked. And he took one look at me and backed away, quickly." Troy was looking down at the floorboards, his eyes half-closed and unseeing, as if he was replaying the memory in his head. "He said, 'you know you love me.'"

"Wow, the l-word," Chad whistled. "That's a big step there, Troy." Chad shrugged. "But why didn't you just say the words? It's not that hard, and I know you used to tell Gabi you loved her."

"That's why I can't just say it, Chad!" Troy exclaimed. "I did tell Gabi I loved her, but… the first time was in response to her telling me she loved me, and that's all it was. I hadn't even thought about whether I loved her or not, but I said it, anyway. And it became just a word to me. I never really thought about whether I loved her or not; for that matter, did Gabi ever mean it, either? Maybe _she_ was just saying it because she thought she should. I mean, considering where we're at after eight months, I'd say that if there was ever any love, it's long gone. I'm dating a guy, and she's fucking Jason and having a baby." Troy's eyes immediately went wide as he realized what he'd just let slip out.

"She's having what?!" Chad exclaimed. "She's fucking who?!"

"Oh, shit, oh, fuck, oh… crapola," Troy cursed, angry at himself. "Chad, you've totally got to pretend you never heard this, and especially the fact that you never heard it from me. I promised Ryan that I wouldn't go spreading it around." Troy sighed. "I promised last night, and I already fucked it up. Today _must_ be a day for setting records."

"Dude, I won't tell a soul," Chad promised. "But seriously? Gabriella's fucking Cross? That slimy little… And a baby? It's not yours, is it?" Chad asked, worriedly. "Your parents would kill you."

"If Ryan has his facts straight, then no, it's not," Troy said. "She's supposed to be about eight weeks along, and I haven't had sex with her in over four months."

"Well, that's good news, at least," Chad said, thankfully. "Plus, you didn't have to put your dick in the same place that Cross' had already been in."

"I said the same thing," Troy remembered. "Ryan just gave me a weird look. Must be a breeder thing."

"Wow, he's converting you fast," Chad said, whistling. "He's even gotten you to start using the word 'breeder.' Do you even remember when you counted yourself among the breeders of the world?"

"I still do, sorta," Troy reminded him. "I'm just… I guess you'd call it Ryan-sexual."

"Is that what you're going to tell your parents?" Chad asked. "That you can still get it up for pussy, but you've decided you're going to take it up the ass instead?"

"Possibly in less colourful terms than that," Troy said, rolling his eyes. "But, I guess, something along those lines."

"And you still haven't fuckin' said why it's me here with you, instead of Ryan," Chad said, pointedly.

"It's your car, Chad," Troy replied, unhelpfully.

"Oh, no you don't," Chad scolded Troy. "You are totally not getting out of this one."

"I didn't want to expose him to my dad's yelling," Troy said, repeating the excuse he'd given Ryan. "My dad's not going to take this well, and I thought if I didn't offer Ryan up as a target, it would be a good thing."

"And?" Chad said, raising his eyebrows. "You know that Ryan would've diverted _all_ the yelling towards him, if he thought it would've helped you. That's not a good reason."

"Why did you pick now to be so damned perceptive," Troy muttered. "It's… it's the love thing," he admitted. "I know one of my parents are going to ask me if I love him, and I don't know what to say. And if he was there, somehow I'd fuck our relationship up." Troy looked down at the floorboards. "I don't know how I feel about him. I'm not even sure I know what love is. So I don't want to be forced into saying it until I know for sure. And so that means avoiding any situations where I'd be confronted on it in front of Ryan."

"And in the meantime, you leave your poor boyfriend hanging and thinking it's all his fault," Chad said, surprisingly insightful. "Dick." Ok, that last comment wasn't nearly as insightful. Even though Troy thought it was just as true as the rest of it. He _was_ being a dick. He just didn't know if there was any way of avoiding it, short of lying.

"You know, Chad, I'm going to be accepting applications for a new best friend, soon," Troy said, mock-glaring at his curly-haired friend. "Apparently Ryan's stolen you away from me."

Chad shrugged. "I thought a best friend's job was looking out for his friend and trying to do what's best for you. And right now, that involves me helping you figure out what's going on in that head of yours, and stopping you from stringing Ryan along." With that statement, the duo finally arrived at Troy's house.

Troy looked up at the house. Once a refuge from the cruelties of the world (not that Troy had ever suffered from such cruelties), it now seemed like enemy territory. Troy gulped, as it finally hit him exactly what he was about to do. "Do you have a paper bag?" Troy asked, his face turning green. "I think I'm gonna…"

"Shit," Chad said, looking around, frantically. He found an old McDonalds food bag, and thrust it in Troy's hands. "Please don't throw up in my car, Troy; I haven't gotten the smell out of it since that party at Garza's, and Cross decided to pass out in the flowerbeds. And woke up in my car as we were driving him home, and puked everywhere."

"I… wasn't gonna throw up, Chad," Troy managed, in between breathing into the paper bag. "Just hyperventilate for a while." Just then, Troy's stomach informed him that it might soon be making him a liar. "Probably not," Troy amended. "Fuck, I can't do this, Chad," he groaned. "I thought I could, but I can't. I don't know what to say, I don't know what to do." Troy grabbed Chad's sleeve. "You should call in sick for me. Tell them I'm too sick to come in, today."

"Dude, those are your parents, not your school teachers," Chad said, shaking his head. "Ok, well I guess one of them _is_ a school teacher, but whatever."

"Then you should come with me, Chad," Troy pleaded, desperately. "You can back me up."

"Dude, I wouldn't know what to say," Chad protested. "I'm not the one who should be backing you up. The guy that should be here with you was that guy from lunch that looked like he'd just lost his pet cat after you told him that he couldn't be here."

"Chad, I can't," Troy groaned, wide eyed. "After all those times I told Ryan I didn't want him here; I'm going to look like an asshole if I call him up and ask him to be here, anyway."

"Dude, you already looked like an asshole," Chad reported, helpfully. "Trust me, he's not going to care. You know he wanted to be here, wanted to be here a lot, actually. That scene in the parking lot; Troy, I've never seen Evans that unguarded around me. If he was willing to do all that in front of Zeke and me, I'd say this means a lot to him. And Troy, you may say you don't _want _him here, for some bullshit reason, but you do _need_ him here. I don't think you can do this alone. And Ryan's the only one who can give you the help you need."

"I'll be fine," Troy said, hardening his voice. Troy didn't like to admit that he was wrong, and he was damned sure not going to admit that he was wrong about something as important as this. Even though he understood all too well just how wrong he was in this case. "Thanks for the ride, Chad," Troy said, opening the door. "I'll call you later. Or I could possibly be living on your floor after today. We'll see."

"Ryan's got first dibs on your living arrangements," Chad said, shaking his head. "Good luck, though, Troy." He patted Troy on the arm, before the brown-haired boy got out of the car. As Troy watched Chad pull out of the driveway, his thoughts were consumed by the impending confrontation, and his now really, really stupid decision to drive Ryan away from him. Stupid Troy had been so obsessed with what had happened that afternoon that he'd blinded himself to the fact that he didn't know how to do this without Ryan. To Troy, it felt like Ryan had acted as a filter and a shield, protecting him from feeling the enormity of what he was about to do. Every time Troy had tried to worry about it or freak out, Ryan had been there to calm him. Why couldn't he have remembered that before he fucked up?

Well, no use kicking himself now. Troy took a deep breath, and opened the door to his house. A quick glance around the living room informed him that his parents weren't there, and Troy decided to change his clothes to hide the fact that he was wearing Ryan's rather nice things, and also all the hickeys from the night before. Oh, and of course the ones that Ryan had also given him that morning. Troy's neck was definitely one of Ryan's favorite parts of Troy's body.

Troy had made it up two steps before he was stopped. "Troy, get in here right now," Coach Bolton's voice said in a strong voice from the kitchen.

"I just need to change my clothes," Troy tried, climbing a few more steps.

"You can change later," Jack Bolton said, his voice now much closer. Troy turned around, and found his father standing at the bottom of the stairs. "We need to talk, _now_."

Troy had no choice but to follow his father into the living room, where he was soon joined by his mother, who had apparently been in the kitchen.

"Hi, honey," Mrs. Bolton said, her voice a little choked, but she still attempted a small smile. Of course, that smile fell right off of her face as she regarded Troy's figure. Ryan had tried to find something more to Troy's style in his closet, but the result had still ended up closer to Ryan's style. A nice polo shirt, rather brighter than Troy's usual fashion, and rather more expensive. The pants selection had led to a mini-argument between Troy and Ryan, but Troy, feeling guilty, had given in quickly. Troy knew that Ryan owned a pair or two of jeans, and had suggested wearing that. Ryan, though, had been adamant that Troy wear more appropriate pants that would match the shirt. No blue jeans, in other words. Troy had drawn the line at wearing a hat, though. Unfortunately, the collar of the shirt was fairly low, and red, actually bringing out the rather prominent hickeys.

"I want an explanation right now, Troy, and you're going to tell me everything I want to know," Coach Bolton ordered.

"Yes, dad," Troy sighed.

"Are you, or are you not dating Ryan Evans?"

'Oh, fuck,' thought Troy, listening in dismay at the tone in his father's voice. Definitely anger, and a fair amount of disappointment. 'The fun's already begun.' Troy sighed. 'I wish Ryan was here.'

'Well, whose fault is that?' said that snide voice in the back of Troy's mind.

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So, if anybody's confused as to what's happening between Troy and Ryan, don't worry. It will all be made clear. At the present time, Troy is totally confused, too, and as this story is told in his POV, we only get to see his view of things. The boy's obviously conflicted, though, and he's making choices based on hasty decisions. I will say that.

Plz read and review!! They encourage me, and make me happy!

Squall Thrawn


	17. Meet the Parents, Then Argue

A/N: How's everybody doing? Sorry for the fact that updates aren't coming nearly as fast as they used to.. I'm in the process of moving, and a lot of my time is consumed with that… I'll have the bulk of my shit moved by this time next week. Then all that's left is unpacking.. But I'll still try to get some writing done, and hope that this chapter will tide ya over! I need to stop doing this, writing chapters that end up longer and longer each time. And I'm already foreseeing a long Chapter 18, as well… But I'm also looking forward to Chapter 18, as well..

And now, for this edition's Zac Efron update! I have no idea how old this quote is, but I was simply surprised when I found this on imdb. "If I had to be stranded on an island for life with anyone I would choose Leonardo Dicaprio because if we were all alone we could show each other stuff." Wow. Hey, Zef, does 'Nessa know about Leo yet? And Zac, honey, you could do so much better than pretty-boy DiCaprio. Come to St. Louis, and see what I'm talking about… heh…

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

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Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 17 - Meet the Parents… Then Argue

As Troy stood there in his living room, facing his mother and father, he had to fight his urge to start hyperventilating again. The question that Troy had been expected had been fired at him, and, honestly, Troy knew there was only one correct answer.

"Yes, Dad," Troy said, his hands shaking but his voice strong. "Ryan Evans is my boyfriend." And there it was. Troy had said it. Now it was time to find out how badly his dad was going to take it.

And from the look on Coach Bolton's face, _very badly _would be considered a mild term for it. Troy could tell he was furious- maybe because Troy had had the audacity to ruin Mr. Bolton's perfectly formed plan for Troy's life?

"What about Gabriella, Troy?" Mrs. Bolton cut in. "I know what you said last night, but… I still don't understand why you had to break up with such a nice girl like that. You should've found out what was wrong with your relationship, and fixed it! She was so lovely!" Lucille Bolton's tone was nearly pleading by the end of it. Troy felt a bit of wetness on his cheeks; something in his mother's tone had touched a nerve. He could tell that his mother was still hurt that he had kept this from her, hurt that until the previous night, Troy had not thought she could be trusted with his secret or that she couldn't handle it.

Her words, though, still made Troy shake his head in disgust. "Mom, my 'lovely' girlfriend was cheating on me with one of my close friends, and is now carrying his baby." Troy knew he was going against what he had told Ryan the night before, spreading Gabi's pregnancy around, but felt the cause justified. He had to tear Gabi down and build Ryan up in their minds; if they thought he was, to use Ryan's words, a perverted home-wrecker, they'd never come around.

Troy's mom gasped in dismay. "I never would've thought… you're sure the baby is his?" she asked, a trifle delicately. Troy had never discussed his sex life with his parents, and he definitely wasn't about to start now.

"There's no way that it's mine," Troy said, assuredly, while avoiding having to actually say anything about said sex life. He had no actual proof that it wasn't his, but Ryan's word was more than good enough for him.

"But why now, Troy?" Mrs. Bolton asked, confused. "You dated Gabriella; you've gone on dates with other girls. How could you be gay?" How, indeed.

"I don't know that I am gay, Mom," Troy admitted, his voice quavering. Maybe he should have gone with the simple explanation, and just gone with _gay_. But in the end, it wasn't true, and Troy thought that perhaps explaining this way would make more sense. "I've always thought girls were attractive. But Ryan… he makes me feel like nobody has ever made me feel before." Troy smiled even through his tears as he thought about his blonde boyfriend. "He's witty, and smart, and doesn't care what others say about him. And he doesn't ask me to be anything other than myself. He makes me feel good about myself." Troy's smile disappeared. "I know this is something you probably never wanted for me, and I know it came as a shock to you. Both of you," Troy added. "I… I never thought this was something that would ever happen to me," Troy admitted. "It still scares me, sometimes, and I'm still trying to feel my way around." And trying to figure out how to make it up to Ryan. "But it feels so right to me… and when I'm around Ryan, I feel happy. How can you stand there and tell that that's wrong?"

"Because you're not thinking about your future, Troy!" Coach Bolton roared. "Do you know how long I've worked- we've worked- to earn you that chance on an NBA team?!" Jack Bolton looked hard at his son. "You know this has been your dream, all these years. How can you just turn your back on it, just like that?! Did you forget what that fag's sister tried to do to you this summer?" Troy had made the mistake of mentioning the events of the summer to his father. Apparently, they had made an impression. "She's a vicious, backstabbing little bitch, and I'm sure her brother is the same way!" Coach Bolton pointed a finger at Troy. "You never thought this way before he came around; you were normal, then." Troy winced at the word 'normal.' That was still a sore subject with him. "You know how these homosexuals are; they get into your head, and seduce you. Ryan's gotten into your mind, and made it so that you can't think straight." Coach Bolton seemed unaware of the pun he had made. Troy, in the meantime, suddenly had the feeling that he'd heard something very similar to that, recently. Almost word for word, actually. "And I'm sure that's what he's been planning to do all this time; mess up your future, and then drop you like a bad habit. That's what those Evanses do, Troy." Coach Bolton shook his head. "I thought you were smarter, thought you could see through their games. Instead, Ryan has already ruined your reputation at school, and I'm sure he's the reason that things started to fall apart between you and Gabriella."

"No, that's not it at all," Troy tried to protest, but his voice was weak. His father was hitting right where all his insecurities were, and Ryan wasn't here to protect him. Troy knew that Ryan couldn't have been going through all this just to fuck with him, he just knew it. But his father's words kept driving into him, about how those Evanses were. Troy saw how Sharpay was, why _would_ Ryan be any different?

'Because he says he's not, and he's showed that he's not,' said that voice.

"Gabriella got upset over the smallest of things and Jason swooped in," Troy tried instead, attempting to explain himself to his father. "She got upset when I wanted to concentrate on basketball instead of auditioning for the school musical."

"So you didn't audition because of basketball?" Coach Bolton said, his eyebrows raised. "Not because Ryan wanted the role?"

"I… Ryan…," Troy couldn't keep up. Troy was actually starting to feel like he had been set up, somehow. His father seemed way too informed for his own good. "Ryan had more time for the role, he wanted it a lot more than I did," Troy tried to explain.

"I'm sure he did," Coach Bolton said, shaking his head. "So he got you to pull out of the auditions. He saw what he wanted, and so he used you and got what he wanted. How can you claim that he's not exactly like his sister?" Troy's mother just watched as her husband steamrolled Troy's protestations.

'Because he didn't ask me for the role,' Troy wanted to protest. 'I saw how much passion he put into the role, and how much it meant to him. I didn't bow out because he wanted me to; I bowed out because _I_ wanted to do that for _him_. Or is that what dad's saying? That Ryan manipulated me?' Of course, it was at this time that Troy had a surreal moment, in which he pleaded with his father saying 'No, that's not true. That's impossible!' to which his father replied 'Search your feelings; you know it to be true.' Troy shook his head. Too much watching Star Wars with Chad. Though at the moment, Troy would rather face Darth Vader than his own father the moment.

Troy felt beaten. He knew that Ryan meant to him, he knew that Ryan would never do that to him, but under his father's relentless cross-examination, all those explanations withered away. Troy looked towards his mother in supplication, hoping she would back him up, or something. Mrs. Bolton was openly crying, looking over at her son, but offered no words of comfort, or support.

Troy's head slumped down, in misery. If only he hadn't been an asshole and driven Ryan away. Then Ryan could've looked at Troy, with in that soul-searing way that he did sometimes, and all of Troy's fears and doubts would've been washed away. For that matter, Ryan wouldn't have let Coach Bolton put Troy on the defensive like that; he would've done something, said something, to protect Troy. Troy put his hands in his pockets, trying to disappear. He felt so stupid, so weak. He never should've tried to do this, to make his father see something that he didn't want to see. Troy knew his father could be wilfully blind at times, and this just proved it. And Troy just couldn't find the words to pierce his father's defence and successfully explain himself… and then he felt something in his pocket. It felt like a piece of paper. Intrigued, Troy pulled it out and looked at it. It was a folded-up piece of paper, with a little note written on it. In Ryan's compulsively neat handwriting, in fact. _'T.B. & R.E. April 12__th__. Good luck, babe. I know you can do it. -Ryan.'_

Troy stared at the writing for a moment, before hurriedly unfolding the paper. It was the picture of them skating together that Zeke had given them earlier. To say that Troy was shocked would be putting it mildly. For Ryan to do all of this, he would've had to have done it after Troy had told Ryan that he didn't want him to be there- in other words, he had very little time to do it. And Troy could only assume that Ryan had slipped it into his pocket when he had hugged Troy.

As Troy stared at the picture, he felt a warm feeling come over him. Despite what he had done to Ryan, despite what he had said, Ryan had cared enough to leave something like this, as a visual and physical reminder that he did care. To go through that much trouble for somebody who he was rather upset with. Troy actually smiled as he looked up at his father, his face still tear-stained.

"You can say what you want, Dad," Troy said, his voice a little calmer. "You can even believe whatever garbage somebody fed you, too; I don't care." Troy wiped his face off. "This really _isn't_ something I ever thought would happen, and I'm unsure of so many things. But," and here Troy pointed a shaking finger at his father. "I am sure of one thing, and that is Ryan Evans. Ryan is not his sister, and I know he would never play me." Troy shook his head. "We care about each other, a lot, and there is nothing you can do about it, Dad."

"What about basketball?" Coach Bolton demanded. "You're gonna give up a shot at your dreams for _him_?"

"_Your_ dreams, Dad," Troy shot back. "_Your_ dreams. I love basketball, and I love playing it. And hey, it would be cool if I did get a shot at the NBA." Troy managed to smile. "But my dreams, Dad? I just want a future where I'm happy. Where I have a career that I like… and a person at my side that I love." Troy grinned lopsidedly. "Always figured that person would be a girl, but I do a lot worse than Ryan Evans. Gabriella, for starters."

"Do you… _do_ you love him?" Mrs. Bolton asked, finally re-entering the conversation.

Troy grimaced. Here it was, the million-dollar question. "I don't know, yet, Mom," Troy admitted. "It's something that's been on my mind, and something that's come up between us. But even if it isn't love yet, I see it coming." Troy looked down at the photo once again, and smiled. "I meant what I said Thursday night, Mom; I really am the luckiest guy in the world. He's sweet, funny… and he really does give me the courage to be myself." Troy glared at his dad. "Ryan wants me to be happy in what I do, no matter what it is. If I make it to the NBA, if I earn a degree in college while I'm playing basketball that will help me find a career; whatever I want to do." Troy shrugged. "The NBA's fickle, and for practically anybody it's a long shot at best. Especially with my height," Troy added, depreciatingly. "Why would I toss away the person who had been one of the greatest things in my life, just for an extremely long shot?"

"And if I forbade you from ever seeing him again?" Jack Bolton said, his voice seething with anger.

"Then you'd have a spare bedroom upstairs, and the Evans family would have a new house guest," Troy replied. That was how his boyfriend would've put it; Troy had picked up a lot during the time he had spent with Ryan. "I'm eighteen years old; legally, I'm an adult." Then Troy's stern façade broke. "Is it too much to ask for, Dad? Can't you just let me be happy?" Troy's eyes, which had been moist all this time, began tearing up again. "You once told me to pursue that scholarship only if it made sense to me. Right now, all I know is that being with Ryan makes sense to me. How could I give up on that?" Troy sank down into a nearby chair, putting his head in his hands. 'And how could hurt him so much, today?' Troy asked himself, silently, as tears started flowing down his cheeks.

Almost immediately, though, Troy felt a warm body next to him, and was suddenly wrapped up in a hug by his mother. Troy immediately latched onto her and buried his face in her shoulder, his tears soaking her blouse. "It'll be okay, sweetie," Mrs. Bolton said, soothingly, as she stroked Troy's head gently. "I love you and I always will. If… if being with Ryan makes you happy, then… you should be with Ryan." Those words sounded like they had a hard time getting out, but Troy could hear the sincerity in her voice. Troy pulled back to look at her, to see the genuine expression on her face.

"What about… what about Dad?" Troy asked, noticing that his father was no longer in the room.

"It's… it's going to take him longer to get used to this, Troy," Mrs. Bolton said, slowly. "But you'll always be welcome under this roof; no matter what. Just give him some time, baby. So you… you stayed at Ryan's last night?"

"Yeah," Troy answered, his voice still choked with emotion. "Last night… was crazy, and I didn't want to be alone." Troy attempted a smile. "That, and he didn't want me to be alone, either."

"I'm happy… that you have somebody who cares about you that deeply," Lucille Bolton managed to say. "You deserve somebody like that, Troy." She looked ashamed. "I'm so sorry for not supporting you when your father was saying all those things. I was upset over what was said last night, and then your father started saying all these things… Honestly, I didn't know what to think… But I should've trusted my boy more… And tell Ryan… Tell Ryan I'm sorry for what I said on the phone, last night. I was shocked, and I took it out on him. I shouldn't have ever thought that Ryan would lead you on or seduce you away from Gabriella."

"He didn't tell me what you said, but I sorta figured…" Troy said, slowly. "And I will tell him, Mom. Unless you'd rather tell him yourself. He's probably going to be over here a fair amount."

"Why isn't he here, now?" Mrs. Bolton asked, sounding a tad surprised. "I was… I didn't expect to see you pull up with Chad." She looked slightly guilty when Troy gave her a surprised look. "I was watching from a window; for the last couple hours, at least." She sighed. "I felt bad about last night, especially when I basically told you not to come home. I guess you were taken care of, anyway." Then she gave him a piercing look. "But where _is_ your… boyfriend?"

Troy looked amazed, and more than a little happy to hear his mother use that term, even though he knew this had to be hard for her. He wasn't so happy to hear her question, though. "I… I asked him not to come," Troy admitted. "I didn't want Dad yelling at him, and blaming everything on him. Like he was trying to do, last night."

"Is that it?" Mrs. Bolton asked. "Ryan must've put up a fight; he's a good boy. He wouldn't just let it go."

"It's… it's complicated, Mom," Troy temporised, not wanting to get into this. "But don't worry; I think I know what I'm doing. It'll be fine. And I'm… actually supposed to have dinner with his parents tomorrow night." Troy looked up at his mother. "Is it okay if I call him, actually? I promised to let him know how it went."

"Go and call Ryan, honey," Mrs. Bolton said, kissing Troy on the forehead. "And… if you want to buy some nice clothes for tomorrow night… I'll give you my card." Mrs. Bolton smiled. "No harm in making a good first impression with your boyfriend's parents, is there?"

"Thanks, Mom," Troy said sincerely, as he gave her a hug. "Thank you so much."

"I love you, Troy," Lucille Bolton said, smiling. "No matter what."

"I love you too, Mom," Troy responded, smiling back. Making his way up the stairs to his bedroom and closing the door behind him, Troy flopped down on the bed. Though his father was going to take some time getting used to things, at least Mom had finally accepted things, for the most part.

Hitting his speed dial, Troy listened to Ryan's ring back tone, yet another show tune. This one seemed to repeat the same phrase over again. In Troy's opinion, the guy and girl should say whatever the hell is on their mind, instead of just singing that they should tell each other.

"Hello?" Ryan answered, his voice full of worry and expectation.

"Hey," Troy said, automatically smiling as he heard Ryan's voice. "It's over, and I'm still alive."

"That didn't take that long," Ryan responded, a little surprised. "How did it go?"

"To use your phrase, my dad is less than thrilled. Far from it, actually. But my mom is gonna be okay with it," Troy added. "She told me to tell you that she's sorry for what she said last night on the phone."

"Chad called me and said you were hyperventilating in his car," Ryan said, neutrally. "He made it sound like you needed some backup. Guess he was wrong, huh?"

"I _was_ freaking out, beforehand," Troy explained. For some reason, Ryan didn't seem as happy as Troy expected him to be. "And my dad wasn't easy on me at all; it felt like the Spanish Inquisition."

"No one expects the Spanish Inquisition," Ryan agreed. "I'm… glad it went well, though, Troy."

Troy frowned. Ryan's words were saying one thing, but his tone was saying yet another thing. "I couldn't have done it without that note you left in my pocket," Troy insisted. "My dad wasn't letting up, and I wasn't getting any support from my mother. Then I found your note, and it gave me the strength to stand up for my father. It… it meant a lot to me, Ryan. Thanks for caring."

"I'd be a bad boyfriend if I didn't do something for my man," Ryan said, his tone unreadable. Then it softened. "I'm glad it helped, though, Troy. I just wish that… never mind. So do you think your father is going to be ok with it?"

Troy, still a little confused by Ryan's slightly odd behaviour, nevertheless responded. "I don't know, yet. He was really angry, and kept mentioning the basketball thing and the NBA. I think it's gonna take a while."

"At least it should be easier with my parents," said Ryan. "I called them after I dropped Zeke off and told them that you were going to accept their dinner invitation. They were thrilled."

"And my Mom gave me the credit card," Troy added. "I'm supposed to go pick out some nice clothes to make a good first impression with your parents." Troy was actually hoping that Ryan would volunteer to take him shopping; then maybe he could get to the bottom of why Ryan was acting so strange on the phone.

"Sounds like fun," Ryan said, his voice preoccupied. "I hope I've taught you enough about style to prevent you from committing fashion suicide."

Damn. "I have gotten a lot of tips from you," Troy agreed. "I'm just afraid I won't remember them when it comes time to buy them." Troy wasn't giving up, yet.

"I'm sure you'll do fine by yourself," Ryan replied, almost a little sharply. "Sorry, Troy; I've got to let you go, now. There are a lot of idiots on the road, and I have to concentrate on my driving. Maybe I'll call you later?"

"Ok," Troy sighed. "I'll talk to you later, Ryan. Drive safely."

"Bye, Troy," Ryan said, quickly, before ending the call. Troy sighed and lay down on his bed. Ryan was definitely not happy with him, and Troy, for once, knew that most of it was his miscalculation in leaving Ryan out. How come his relationship with Gabriella wasn't so damned complicated and confusing?

'Because you didn't care about Gabriella nearly as much as you care about Ryan,' replied that damn part of Troy's mind that regularly informed him of his idiocy. 'And because Ryan cares about _you_ a lot more than Gabriella ever did.'

Then how was it that Ryan could get so damned pissed off at Troy so much? After all, Troy figured, if Ryan cared about him so damned much, why couldn't he be more understanding about what Troy was going through? Troy growled in frustration, before picking his phone back up and calling Chad. Hopefully Chad, at least, would have some encouraging words…

qpqp

"Did Mom already leave?" Troy asked his father as he made his way into the dining room. It was Sunday afternoon, and Troy had been upstairs doing his homework. Troy had ended up going to the mall with Chad the night before, facing ridicule from his curly-haired friend as he tried to find something nice enough to impress Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Ryan had told Troy during their ride to Jack-in-the-Box not to dress too formally, but still dress appropriately. Troy had found a nice sport coat and dress shirt, and a pair of khakis that even Chad had admitted looked sharp on Troy. The whole time, however, Troy had been wishing that it was Ryan there, helping him pick out his clothes. Ryan had a great eye for it, of course, and Troy had been relying on him to find suitable attire. Chad and Troy were like brothers, but when it came to style, Chad was no help whatsoever. He had actually suggested wearing the novelty t-shirt that he had bought Troy that day; Troy thought he was mostly kidding about that, though. Mostly.

The expected call from Ryan had never come that night, however, and the next morning Troy had awoken to a short voicemail from Ryan, sounding rushed and in a hurry, letting Troy know that dinner was going to be at six, and that Troy should probably get the estate by five-thirty. Ryan had made no mention of the call he had not made the night before, and had only promised to call Troy around two or so. Troy had tried calling Ryan, trying to figure out what was going on, but Ryan's phone had rolled directly over to voicemail. Troy had then tried texting Ryan, in vain hopes of reaching him. Jack Bolton's stony silence for the rest of Saturday had left Troy resolved to fix the problems, or at least address it. Which meant that Troy was trying valiantly to reach his boyfriend, to receive advice on how to do so.

Troy approached his father, still seeking an answer to his question about Mrs. Bolton, but silence greeted him. Troy already knew that his mother had an Open House today, and already had some potential buyers for a particularly nice house in a nearby subdivision, but had been unsure about what time it was to start.

Coach Bolton, however, continued reading the Sunday paper and eating a sandwich, as if oblivious to Troy's question. Troy made himself a sandwich as well, and sat down at the table, close enough to grab a section of the paper. He didn't, however, choosing instead to figure out what to say to his father.

"Are you gonna watch the baseball game tonight?" Troy asked, trying to use the Diamondbacks as a suitable conversation starter. Still no response. Troy sighed. And then jumped a mile as his phone started beeping and vibrating. Troy nearly tore his pocket off in his haste to pull his phone out. It was indeed a text from Ryan, short and to the point. Wherever Ryan was, or what Ryan was doing, he was definitely busy. And still he texted Troy. Troy's frustration was still high with Ryan, but did go down a notch or two. _'Remember Friday night. Prove him wrong. -R'_ Troy sat there a minute, trying to figure out exactly what Ryan was hinting at. Why the hell couldn't Ryan have been clearer? And why the hell couldn't his father just say something to him? Fuck it. "So is this how it's gonna be from now on, _Dad_? You're just going to pretend you don't have a son anymore?"

"Oh, I know I have a son," Coach Bolton said, through gritted teeth. "He's the one that's throwing away his future, and choosing a perverted lifestyle instead. Kinda makes him hard to forget."

"Oh, come on, Dad!" Troy exclaimed. "You don't even fuckin' get it, do you? You've got this stupid little idea in your head, about how I gonna be now that I've got a boyfriend, and you don't even know shit about it."

"You will never take that tone of voice with me, ever again," Coach Bolton growled, throwing his paper to the side to point at Troy threateningly. "I am your father; show some respect."

"Then act like my father!" Troy yelled. "Listen to me, help me. But don't shut me out! I've already got enough of that going on!" Like Ryan. Troy was angry at Ryan, for being so adamant about Troy being out, and then not being happy when Troy actually did come out. Troy needed him now, more than ever! "All you see is your gay son, don't you?" Troy challenged. "You look at me, and that's all you can think about, isn't it?" By the expression on his dad's face, that was a clear yes. "Well, you need to look better, Dad. I'm not your gay son; hell, I don't even know that I'm all the way gay! I am _your_ son, period. I play basketball, I have burping contests with you and Chad, I sing in musicals, I attempt to dance… I'm the one that you used to build forts out of pillows for, and then you'd take all the blame when Mom wanted to know why none of the couches had cushions." Troy's eyes grew misty with remembrance, but his tone was still sharp. "_I_ was the one who conveniently got ill so that you and Mom couldn't go to the opera that you'd tried to get out of all that week, _and _the one who helped lead the Wildcats to back-to-back state championships!" That last part, Troy yelled with pride. "I am still that person, Dad! I am still your son! I'm the same guy I've always been… I just happen to be dating Ryan Evans, that's all. I'm not your gay son, Dad… I'm just your son… who happens to be gay. Or whatever." And finally, something jogged Troy's memory, and he realized what Ryan meant. "Dad, now that I'm dating a guy, everybody going to tell me that I can't do this, or I can't do that," Troy said, quietly. "That I can't make the NBA just because I'm gay. I'm going to try to prove them wrong. I'm not going to give up on the basketball thing so easily. _Help_ me prove them wrong, Dad."

As Troy sat there, he could see his father actually consider what he was saying. Troy had thought about it all night, had thought of his conversations with Ryan about his dad and his possible reaction. In retrospect, Troy felt kinda stupid that he hadn't sussed out Ryan's meaning immediately; after all, it was a topic they had discussed more than once.

"I have to think about this, Troy," Jack Bolton finally said, his expression troubled. "You… you made some good points. I… I'm just going to…" Coach Bolton got up from the table without finishing his statement. But as he passed Troy, he briefly squeezed Troy's shoulder. He didn't say anything, but Troy knew that things might just turn out ok, after all.

The Bolton household was quiet for the next hour or two as Troy, after finishing his lunch, headed back upstairs to finish his homework. And tried not to look at the clock every few minutes as it crept closer to two o'clock. Or check his phone to make sure it was still on, that the ringer was on, that he still had a decent signal. Right at two o'clock, Troy grabbed his phone again. Ryan should be calling right now, right? Troy sat there for a minute, looking at his phone, before putting down with a sigh. Ryan only said he was going to call around two or so. Not two on the dot. Troy felt rather silly- besides, wasn't he supposed to be annoyed at Ryan, anyway?

Ten minutes passed, and then fifteen. Troy was slowly being driven mad by his cell phone's stubborn refusal to ring and tell him that his boyfriend was calling him. His bladder was informing him of other concerns, though, and Troy reluctantly left his cell phone on his bed. He knew that if he was Ryan, he wouldn't want himself answering the phone while he was in the john.

Naturally, that was exactly where Troy was when his phone started ringing. Troy swore as he hurriedly pulled up his pants and flushed the toilet. He spent about half a second rinsing his hands- if five drops of water counted as rinsing- before yanking the door open. Troy dashed down the hallway, and was almost in his room when his left foot decided to stay in the hallway and become hooked on the doorframe for a second. So a quick dash into the room to grab the phone became a undignified headlong flop into the room that landed Troy on the floor beside his bed. Groaning on the floor, Troy reached blindly for his cell phone and quickly answered it.

"Hello?" Troy said, winded and just a little bit sore.

"Was I interrupting something?" came Ryan's sorely-missed voice in an amused tone. "I can always call back, later."

"No!" Troy shouted. Then he forced himself to calm down. "No, I'm good, now. I, umm… was in the bathroom."

"So _do_ you need time to wipe yourself?" Ryan returned.

"Ha… ha…," Troy deadpanned. "I was… I just… I didn't want to miss your call. I didn't get a chance to talk to you last night."

"Sorry, Troy, I got held up last night," Ryan said, a note of apology in his tone. "It's been a busy weekend for me; this morning I was woken up at a god-awful time by my dad. Apparently a business associate of his invited him to play eighteen holes, and was planning on bringing his daughter along. Somehow that translated into 'why don't I bring my gay son along'?" Ryan sighed. "I tried to explain to my dad that Sharpay would be much better for this sort of thing, since she's a female too, but my protestations fell on deaf ears. Plus, I think he already tried it and couldn't wake Shar up."

"How bad was it?" Troy said, sympathetically.

"I got taken out of the game after about six holes," Ryan confessed. "Without Mom providing a backboard, I was taking way too long on each hole. Multiply par by, like, three, and you've got my score on each hole. Maybe you can give me some lessons this summer?" Ryan asked, hopefully.

"That sounds like fun," Troy said, smiling. "And the daughter?"

"World's worst gaydar," Ryan said, sighing. "She would not take a hint; all morning she was brushing up against me, leaning over as if I wanted to see her breasts. It got worse after I stopped playing; my dad didn't let me leave, of course. I didn't really want to, though," Ryan added. "If I ignored the girl shamelessly throwing herself at me, it was a fun sort of father-son bonding experience."

"Why didn't you tell her you had a boyfriend?" Troy asked, amused to hear Ryan's story.

"Oh, I did," Ryan replied, with a groan. "About five, six, twenty times. As if most people couldn't figure it out on their own. You know what she said?" Ryan asked, incredulously. "She said 'do you know how many boys have used that line with me? I'm not stupid.'"

"You've got to be kidding," Troy said, covering his mouth to hold back the laughter.

"Oh, I wish I was," replied Ryan, with a shudder. "Finally, I mentioned something to my Dad, who immediately came to my aid. Loud enough for both his business associate and his daughter to hear, he asked me if he was still gonna get to meet my boyfriend tonight. And that he's looking forward to it; after all, he's heard so many good things about you already."

"He… he has?" Troy asked, a little surprised. "I mean… he still doesn't know that it's me, right?"

"Even if I didn't name you, I'm still allowed to boast about my boyfriend, aren't I?" Ryan asked. "I may have said one or two things about you. But that did the trick; I guess that girl, in that dim mind of hers, finally realized that I wasn't just saying I was gay to avoid her. Honestly, though, after that I didn't really care about whether it worked or not. Hearing my dad say that, so calmly, as if he was asking Sharpay about a boyfriend… it made me happy." And Troy could tell that Ryan was pleased, just from the tone of his voice. "Sorry about this morning, though; there was absolutely no reception on the golf course at all; I practically had to stand on the roof of the clubhouse to get any sort of signal. That's when I managed to get your text message and respond."

"Don't worry about it," Troy said, feeling vastly better about himself. Ryan wasn't avoiding him; he just couldn't answer. That would also explain the earliness of the voice mail. "So I'm supposed to be at your place around five-thirty, right?"

"Um, do you think you could get here around five?" Ryan asked diffidently.

"It shouldn't be a problem," Troy said, shrugging. "I don't really have anything else going on today. Why? Did dinner get pushed up?"

"No, dinner's still at six," Ryan said softly. "I just… I wanted to spend some alone time with you before introducing you to my parents. Is that okay?"

"More than," Troy said, grinning. "Sure you don't want me there as soon as I can get ready?"

"Troy, just because you don't take long to put yourself together doesn't mean I can do the same," Ryan said, sighing. "Five o'clock means I'll have to rush myself."

"Ryan, it's only two-thirty right now," Troy pointed out. "It takes you two and a half hours to… of course it does, doesn't it? I shouldn't even have to ask…"

"You really shouldn't," Ryan scolded Troy. "So I'll see you at five?"

"I'll be there," Troy promised.

"See you then, Troy," Ryan said, softly.

"Bye, Ryan," Troy said, and soon heard the click of the call disconnecting. Some alone time. Excellent; maybe they could spend that time getting some things off their chests, and make things better than they were.

'But without saying I love you, right?' the voice said. 'Because God forbid you would admit that and make things all better, right?'

'You shut up," Troy sighed. "I'm not going to say love til I know that I mean it.'

'After he's left you, and it's too late?' the voice snidely replied.

qpqp

It was a few minutes before five when Troy pulled up to the gates of the Evans estate. Keying in the code that Ryan had given him the other night, Troy pulled into the driveway. He parked behind Ryan's blue convertible, and was soon walking towards the the front door when it opened and Ryan appeared. He was wearing a pair of light-coloured khakis and a red button-up shirt. This time the hat was a trilby; red, of course, but it looked a tad different than the other one Ryan owned. Troy knew it had to be a bad sign that he was paying enough attention to Ryan's hats that he noticed even the subtle differences.

"Hey, Troy," Ryan said, a soft smile on his face.

"Well hey there yourself," Troy returned, smiling back.

"Let's head to the gazebo," Ryan said, gesturing towards the path that led into the back gardens. "My mom promised that she wouldn't look out and see who you were before I introduced you to them." Ryan actually had to suppress a giggle. "I think she's getting a kick out of all this cloak and dagger stuff."

"And you aren't?" Troy asked, fondly. "But gazebo sounds good," Troy added, as he approached Ryan almost diffidently. It had only been just over twenty-four hours since he had seen the boy, but it felt like so much had changed. Honestly, Troy had no idea where he stood with the other boy, now. Ryan _did _seem to be genuinely happy to see Troy, but then again, Ryan was pretty good at 'seeming to be.' He _was_ a brilliant actor, after all.

Ryan's hand felt good when Troy placed his own in Ryan's grip, though. What had once felt so awkward now felt so natural to Troy. But what did that prove? Once again, Troy cursed his overactive mind. The very mind that had sprung that rather unwelcome voice of Troy's, that always seemed to have a decent grasp of everything that was happening. Too bad Troy never got clued into anything…

They finally reached the gazebo, a beautiful piece of craftsmanship that overlooked a lot of the beautiful gardens. Ryan gestured towards a wooden glider that was large enough for only two people. Troy sat down in it, his arm outstretched on the side of the bench as if to urge Ryan to lean against him. Ryan immediately obliged him, pressing up as close to Troy as he could get. The trilby sat in his lap. Troy was a little confused over how hot and cold Ryan could be, his moods suddenly changing from one minute to the next, but all of that counted for so very little when Ryan was in his arms, pressed up against him.

"I like your clothes, Troy," Ryan said, after they had sat there for a while, enjoying each other's company silently. "You did a good job picking them out." He paused for a moment. "Sorry I didn't come with you to the mall last night," he added, in a quieter voice. "I was a horrible boyfriend yesterday. I was rude to you on the phone, I'm sure I didn't make it very easy on you when it came time to tell your parents, and I totally rained on your parade when everything turned out okay." A pause. "I was afraid you weren't even going to come, tonight."

"I promised I'd be here," Troy started, taken aback by Ryan's blunt statements. "And you weren't a horrible boyfriend; that was me, for keeping you out of something that you had every right to be in." Troy ran one of his hands through his mop of brown hair in frustration; the other hand and arm were securely fastened to Ryan's waist. "I fucked up, Ryan," Troy confessed. Of course, he was going to skip the underlying reason for why he had made his unilateral decision, but still, his apology should count for something, right? "I got the stupid idea in my head that I was gonna say something, or my dad was going to flip out, and somehow fuck everything up." Troy frowned; luckily Ryan couldn't see his expression. Suddenly his excuse, which had always seemed flimsy to him, seemed ridiculously transparent. Troy knew the real reason; he didn't want Ryan to discover Troy's aversion to using the l-word in connection with him. But Troy hadn't been particularly subtle, that morning… Was this why Ryan had acted like he did? Because he had already figured out the reason?

"And all it took was pulling up in the driveway for me to realize just how badly I fucked up," Troy continued, hoping against hope that Ryan really hadn't cottoned on to his real reason. "You can ask Chad about that- I was a mess." Troy sighed. "Chad told me I should call you, every instinct in my body told me to call me…" Troy shook his head. "But in the end, I was too damned stubborn for my own good, and came close to fucking everything up." As far as Troy was concerned, he hoped that Ryan never found out that Troy had come close to actually doubting his boyfriend. "I totally choked when my dad started on the offensive; he seemed to know a lot more about our friendship and my relationship with Gabriella than he should have."

"Well, why shouldn't he?" Ryan asked, curiously. "We already figured that Jason told him about our movie date and the first picture. Why wouldn't he get the rest of the story from him? Especially after our confrontation on Friday night."

"I, umm… forgot," Troy admitted. "I wasn't thinking about Cross. But that would explain it. He was definitely sounded like he had heard Cross and Gabi's slanted view of the matter, and there was one point where he actually said something very similar to what Jason said at the movies."

"So… how _did_ your parents take it?" Ryan asked, curiously. "You just said that your mother was okay with it, and your dad was going to take some time."

"Maybe not as much time as I thought," Troy said, smiling. He told Ryan what he said to his father that afternoon, practically verbatim. As he talked, Ryan brought Troy's other hand down, the one that was perched on the back of the swing, and threaded his fingers through Troy's own.

"I'm so proud of you," Ryan finally said warmly, when Troy had paused to catch his breath. "You did just fine with your father; it sounds like things'll work out just fine between you two."

"Only because I've got the best boyfriend ever," Troy reminded him. "You gave me the idea, you gave me the words… and you gave me the strength." Troy paused. "This sort of relationship… it's so much harder than anything I've had to deal with, before. Much harder than trying out for a musical when nobody wants me to sing. And the resistance is more than double. But I can't think of anything else I'd rather fight for." Troy, as if proving his point, tightened his grip on Ryan's waist. To show anybody watching- which at this point consisted of a few birds and perhaps a lawn gnome- that he dared anybody to take Ryan away from him.

"I hate to ruin this moment," Ryan said finally, "but we'd better get inside; my parents really wanted to meet you, and have a small chat before we ate dinner." He tried to get up, but was still being held firmly by Troy.

"Let's just stay here," Troy said, a smile on his face. "Surely your chefs could send some food out here… right?"

"You're not getting out of it that easily," Ryan chided Troy. "We're eating dinner with my parents, and Sharpay." He could hear Troy groan at the mention of Sharpay. "Oh, and Troy?"

"Yeah, Ryan?"

"Don't call me Shirley."

qpqp

"Here we are," Ryan said, as he and Troy stood outside the drawing room doors. "My parents are having cocktails before dinner." He looked over at the brunette. "Are you ready?"

Troy nodded, trying to keep hidden the fact that his knees were shaking. "Let's do this," he managed.

Ryan smiled encouragingly at Troy. "Don't worry; you've met my parents before, and you know they like you." Holding Troy's hand, Ryan opened one of the doors to the drawing room.

As the door opened, Vance and Darby Evans looked over at Ryan, expectantly. Ryan couldn't help but give his mom a big smile in greeting.

"Mom, Dad," Ryan started. "I would like you to meet my boyfriend." Hearing his cue, Troy opened the other drawing room door. "Troy Bolton."

There was silence for a moment, as Troy looked worriedly towards Ryan, but Ryan merely smiled back at Troy as he led the other boy into the room.

"I told you, honey!" Mrs. Evans finally said, smiling fondly at the two boys. "I knew there was something going on between Ducky and Troy."

"Yes, you did, honey," Mr. Evans said, shaking his head ruefully. "Where do you want to go, next weekend?"

"I'll let you know," Ryan's mom said, smiling. Getting up from the expensive leather couch, she approached the two boys. Troy had a shellshocked look at their totally unexpected reaction.

"My parents had a wager going on whether or not you were the mystery boyfriend," Ryan said, fighting to keep a smirk from his face. "My dad lost, so now he's got to take Mom somewhere."

"You said they didn't know!" Troy exclaimed.

"I said I didn't _tell_ them," Ryan said, not even trying to fight the smirk anymore. "I didn't say they didn't guess it, anyway."

"Like I didn't see the way you were, around my Ducky," Mrs. Evans said, smiling at Troy. "You two are so cute together!" She put her arms around both boys, and hugged them. Troy was speechless; after the whole ordeal with his parents, it felt so unreal that Ryan's parents took him in stride.

"Who did you say it was, Dad?" Ryan asked, impishly.

"Chad Danforth," his father admitted. "I've heard you mention his name more than a few times, and somebody said something once about a baseball game?"

Ryan just grinned. "Chad's a good friend, but he's not my type. I like my guys brown-haired and with the initials T.B."

"That is _so_ gay," came an all too familiar voice from behind them. With the clip-clop of designer heels, Sharpay entered the room, looking at Ryan and Troy with a sneer on her face.

"Love you too, Shar," Ryan said, his grin not wavering at all. "Thanks for giving us some space, earlier."

"Ryan, you should know that I would never pry into other people's affairs like that," Sharpay said, without a hint of irony in her voice.

There was silence for a moment as Troy looked unbelievingly at Ryan, and then Mrs. Evans spoke.

"So, you already knew about these two, Kitten?" she asked.

"Puh-lease, they were way too transparent," Sharpay scoffed. "It was utterly pathetic, how they looked at each other at school and expected nobody else to notice. They might as well wear some of those ugly t-shirts of Danforth's that say "I'm with him" or something obvious like that."

Troy and Ryan shared a grin at Sharpay's comment; Troy had a sudden urge to wear his shirt on Monday.

"Come on boys, sit down!" Mr. Evans invited. "No sense in just standing around waiting for dinner."

Troy grinned at Ryan, before they headed over to where the blonde's father was and sat on a nearby couch, still holding hands. As Troy talked to Mr. Evans, who was describing the morning's golfing, he couldn't help but keep looking over at Ryan, a silly grin appearing on his face every time he did so. The fact that the Evanses had accepted him so easily simply blew his mind. Ryan was rather occupied with talking to his mother, who had sat right next to him and seemed awfully excited, but he still glanced over at Troy fairly often as well. Sharpay, in the mean time, was watching both Troy and Ryan like a hawk, almost as if she was waiting for a sign of weakness so that she could pounce. Troy, who had come to a tense peace with Sharpay only two nights previous, still wasn't all that comfortable with how she was watching him.

Eventually, the butler entered the room and informed them that dinner was ready to be served.

"Excellent!" Mr. Evans said as everybody stood up to adjourn to the dining room. "Come along, Troy; I told our chef to outdo himself tonight." Without giving him a choice, Mr. Evans put his arm around Troy and led him there, himself. "I remember last year how good you were on the links; maybe you'll oblige me by joining me some day soon."

"That would be great, Mr. Evans," Troy said, immediately.

"Splendid!" The five soon reached the dining room, where the table was elaborately set with lit candles on it. Mr. And Mrs. Evans and Sharpay proceeded to sit down, chatting about some upcoming benefit.

"You'll be sitting next to me, Troy," Ryan said, as the brown-haired boy approached the table. Taking his place at the table next to his father, Ryan gestured towards the empty chair next to him.

"Sounds good," Troy said, smiling at Ryan as he sat down. "I was afraid I was going to end up next to Sharpay or something." He confessed that last part in a rather low tone, though, to avoid her hearing him.

"I wouldn't be that mean," Ryan said, a smirk on his face. "Maybe next time, though."

"Then I guess I'll never be over here for dinner, again," Troy countered.

"Eat tonight's fare, then we'll see if you can stay away," Ryan challenged.

qpqp

"You win, Ryan," Troy said, as he slowly walked down the hallway of the Evans estate towards the front door. "Cornish game hen? I'd never had it before, but your chef is way good at his job. Think there would be a place at the dinner table for me, every night?"

"Well, you seemed to be a hit with my parents, so you might just luck out," Ryan observed. "And I already told you that if I had my way, I'd be falling asleep on top of you every night." Ryan paused. "Are you sure you can't stay any longer?"

"My parents know all too well how I am on the weekends," Troy said, sadly shaking his head. "Parties, and whatnot. One of their main rules is that I'm home early on Sunday evenings, so that in theory I'm rested up for school the next morning."

"That sucks," Ryan said, frowning. "And I suppose it's out of the question to suggest that you could sleep over here just as easily?"

"A little too soon, Ryan," Troy said, frowning. "At least on Sunday nights. I'm allowed quite a bit of leeway on Friday and Saturday nights, though. Maybe after Zeke's party on Friday?"

"Oh, joy," Ryan said, rolling his eyes. "I get to tend, once again, to a drunk-as-a-skunk Troy, who becomes a complete dead weight when he's intoxicated. Chad and Zeke had to help me, last time." The two boys reached the foyer; the butler opening the door for them

"Sorry," Troy mumbled, flushing. "I promise to moderate my drinking on Friday."

"I'll hold you to that," Ryan promised, as they walked out the front door.

"So, Sharpay wasn't as hostile as I expected her to be," Troy said, happily. "I just wish she'd quit watching me all the time, like she's expecting me to mess up."

"That's just Shar," Ryan shrugged off, easily. "You'll get used to it, and she'll get tired of watching."

"And I totally didn't expect your parents to be as cool with things as they were," Troy continued. "They kept surprising me all night long; I was totally waiting for them to start interrogating me."

"Oh, Troy, Troy," Ryan sighed, theatrically. "It's a good thing you're so pretty."

"Meaning?" Troy said, narrowing his eyes.

"You were a dinner guest, here at my parents' invitation," Ryan explained. "It would have been the height of bad manners for them to interrogate you and ask you the hard questions for which you have no good answers to."

"Interrogate?" Troy asked, gulping. He was suddenly nervous. "Questions like what?"

"Like, what precisely did you do to me, last month, that caused me to stop eating, look all depressed, while Sharpay looked like she was preparing for war?" Ryan said, bluntly. "My parents realized a lot more than you may have thought, and that golf game my father invited you to? Yeah, he's gonna grill ya when you're out on the course." Ryan shrugged. "I understand why you did it, I've forgiven you for it, but my mother is… well, I guess you'd say she's a little overprotective of me."

Ryan looked away into the distance. "When I was eleven, I was on the way to a dance recital with Sharpay when a reckless driver ran a red light and crashed into our car. It killed our driver, instantly, and I was… well, I was in bad shape, let's leave it at that. Mom wasn't with us; she had a meeting with the Lava Springs board, and was going to be driven to the recital after she was done." Ryan shook his head. "I don't think she's ever forgiven herself for not being with us, even though there was nothing she could've done differently, and that she might have been killed, too, if she had been there." Ryan smiled an uneasy smile. "I've never been the tough one; that's Sharpay. So Mom worries about me a lot. And woe to the person who hurts me."

Troy swallowed. "Are you… are you sure you can't explain to her that I didn't mean to hurt you?"

"That's not even the only hard question," Ryan said with a sigh, avoiding Troy's hopeful plea. "Luckily, my Mom doesn't know about one of the bigger ones." Ryan searched the night sky, as if perhaps he might find the answers he was searching for up there.

"What are you talking about?" Troy asked, confused. Ryan was doing his cryptic message thing, and Troy had never been able to follow along. He needed a cheat sheet, a summary, or even one of those damned bouncing balls that showed up on karaoke videos; something to help him keep up.

"The real reason why you didn't want me with you, yesterday," Ryan said, looking straight at Troy. "I let it go, earlier, because I didn't want to stir anything up before we had dinner. But you should know I'm not that clueless, Troy. We both know all too well that the reason you didn't want me with you yesterday wasn't just because you or your father was somehow going to say something that would fuck our relationship up."

"That was the reason," Troy protested.

"Is our relationship so flimsy that a few words said in anger could destroy it?" Ryan said, directly. "I'm sure that it was part of the reason, though. But I think you were referring to specific words that you didn't want to say. This is… about what I said to you, when we were in bed yesterday, isn't it?"

Troy couldn't answer audibly, but instead slowly nodded his head.

"I wasn't completely forthcoming, earlier," Ryan confessed. "When I said I was a horrible boyfriend… I know I shouldn't have put that kind of pressure on us, so early. And now, it looks like I've fucked it up so badly that, despite how freaked out you were about telling your parents, you went it alone just so you could avoid… avoid saying the word 'love.'"

Even as Ryan said the word, Troy's stomach started feeling queasy.

"Ryan…" Troy tried. "I'm… I'm sorry I kept you out… it's just… I couldn't deal with…" Troy couldn't finish his sentence. This was exactly what he had feared; from the look on Ryan's face, every word that Troy uttered was only making things worse.

"So it's… not something you can deal with, right now?" Ryan asked, his eyes a bit moist. "I guess I should be happy I know where you stand, now." Ryan shrugged, though it seemed like a Herculean effort. "Please, next time, just be honest and tell me ahead of time; I can handle the truth, and maybe we could've avoided all of this." Ryan attempted a smile. "So, anyway, I'll see you tomorrow morning? Today's our big day, isn't it? The day everybody gets to see East High's new golden couple."

"Wait… I thought we were… I mean… what?" Troy didn't even pretend to understand what had just happened. From Ryan's words, it had almost sounded as if they were breaking up or something, but now Ryan was acting as if nothing had happened?

"What's the matter, Troy?" Ryan asked, a puzzled look on his face.

"I don't know," Troy mumbled. "I thought you were breaking up with me or something."

Ryan's eyes went wide. "Breaking up with you? Why would I do that?" Ryan's voice seemed honestly surprised. "We just had a miscommunication… I guess I thought you were looking for a certain something in our relationship, but I was wrong. It's fine, Troy. Miscommunication resolved."

'Not resolved!' Troy's mind wanted to scream out loud. That last part, Troy could tell so clearly that Ryan was lying through his teeth. It wasn't fine; not at all. And Troy didn't want it that way, either. And yet Troy stayed silent.

"Good night, Troy," Ryan said, into the silence. "Drive safely." Ryan gave him a kiss on the cheek. Troy mumbled something that could've been interpreted as a goodbye; his mind was having problems forming cogent thoughts. Slowly turning, Ryan started making his way back towards the front door.

"Ryan!" Troy called out, finally getting his mouth to form words.

"Yeah, Troy?" Ryan said, turning around. It could've been Troy's imagination, but it seemed like Ryan had turned around quickly, as if expecting or perhaps hoping that Troy would call him.

"I… that is…" Troy fumbled, losing his nerve as the blonde gazed at him. 'Come on, Bolton,' he urged himself. 'You can do it. It's just three simple little words. If you say them to him, surely they'll mean something, right?' "I'll see you tomorrow," Troy finally said.

Oh God. Troy's heart felt like it was going to break as he watched Ryan's face, and the look of disappointment that even East High's Drama King couldn't disguise.

"See you tomorrow, Troy," Ryan said, and his voice betrayed his emotions, as well. Ryan hurriedly entered the mansion, as if afraid that Troy was going to call his name again, and let him down again. Troy felt like an asshole, a schmuck. But he couldn't say it. Somehow, the words were stuck in his throat, and Troy simply couldn't say… couldn't say 'I love you' to Ryan and mean it with all his heart. Because he was deathly afraid of what would happen if he just said it, and didn't mean it, completely. Then something would happen, and he would lose Ryan forever. And as it was, it looked like that might happen, anyway.

"Shit! Fuck!" Troy yelled out of his truck window as he drove away from the Evans estate. Troy picked up his cell phone to call Chad, desperate to gain advice from his friend. Desperate to hear something that would put his head on straight about this l-word thing.

"What's up, Troy?" Chad asked, finally answering his phone.

"I've fucked up, Chad," Troy said, blurting everything out. "And I don't know what to do." And as Chad sought to find out just want Troy did, Troy couldn't help but let one tear slip from his eye. He couldn't lose Ryan, he just couldn't.

qpqp

Heh. And you thought Troy was clueless before. Though this time, he knows exactly what he needs to do… but he's afraid to do it. Hopefully somebody will knock some sense into him, that silly boy…

And don't worry, the next chapter will see a lot more Sharpay, since tomorrow's a school day! And Troy definitely hasn't seen the last of Mr. and Mrs. Evans, yet. And more Chad!! I love his character!! Anybody catch the Chyan references? A shout out to Jenwyn, whose story, Boy Disease, is, like, my fave story at the moment!!

Oh, and thanks to all of you, I've broken the 150 review mark!! Thanks so much to my loyal readers; I hope you enjoy this chapter. It took me a while to find the right tone for it.

Troy's coming out to his parents was based on part on my own coming out. Both of my parents took Mrs. Bolton's route, and there was no shouting, but it was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do in my life. And trust me; I don't think there was a dry eye in the house. And I can totally see Troy cryin' as well.

Plz read and review, and send lots of encouragement as I attempt to hurt my back moving all my damned heavy furniture.

Squall


	18. All I Need is Another Chance

Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 18 - All I Need is Another Chance

Nice shirt, Bolton!" called a voice from amidst the crowd of students. Troy could hear the derision that was so clearly in the voice, and so he paid it no mind, and continued walking through the crowded hallways of East High.

It was the beginning of free period on Monday, and Troy was heading towards his locker to meet up with Ryan, Chad, and whoever else happened to be there. Probably not Zeke, in other words, as the dark-skinned boy had taken to hanging around Sharpay's locker, trying to convince her to attend his party. Ryan had already promised to drag her along, if need be, but Zeke was determined to give it a good shot, first. After all, it would be a lot better for them if she came as the result of Zeke's urging, instead of Ryan's ultimatum.

It had been an interesting morning, thus far. Troy had, as per his usual morning routine, met Ryan in the student parking lot and walked him, as well as his frequent passenger Kelsi, into the building. One part that definitely wasn't part of Troy's usual morning routine was the fact that he was holding Ryan's hand the whole time, or that he was wearing a t-shirt with a gay slogan on it. Troy had been ready to do almost anything to prove to Ryan that he still cared (well, short of actually using the l-word, the likes of which made him flinch when he even heard the word). Wearing the novelty shirt that Chad had bought him, that declared in proud letters that _"I'm Not Gay, But My Boyfriend Is,"_ was one such effort. So was the handholding, to an even greater extent.

Troy had known, or rather had figured, that most if not all of the student body was now aware of his relationship with the male Evans twin. And any amount of denying it would be a waste of time, not to mention something Troy really didn't feel like doing. He may not have been gay, but he wasn't completely straight, either. And even if his boyfriend was still upset with him, though the blonde hid it well, Troy was still more than happy to be seen holding his hand. So, what was really the point in toning anything down?

"Hey, Troy," Taylor called, as she moved to join him on his walk through the hallways. "Nice shirt." Taylor had a smirk on her face. "And I actually mean that. It's good to see that you've finally gotten together with Ryan. And not afraid to show it."

Troy shrugged. "He deserves to be with somebody who doesn't treat him like a dirty secret." He practically mumbled the words; there seemed to be every indication that he was barely paying attention to what he was saying. There was a preoccupied air about him, as if he were barely aware that Taylor was talking to him, or even that he was walking the hallways of East High.

"What's the problem, Bolton?" Taylor asked, raising an eyebrow. "You don't seem with it, today."

"Huh?" Troy said, looking over at Taylor with a blank stare. "Oh… sorry, Taylor. Today's been…" Troy ran his fingers through his hair. "It's been a shitty day."

"Is it the shirt?" Taylor suggested. "I mean, I'll be the first to admit that it's sorta conspicuous. I'm surprised Principal Matsui hasn't ordered you to change it, yet."

"It's not just that," Troy said, shaking his head. "Have you ever walked into a room, and immediately all conversation stops dead and you know that they were talking about you?" Troy asked, bluntly. "Or how about that feeling you get sometimes, when you feel like all eyes on you? And how you just tell yourself that it's just a feeling, that they're not actually watching you?" Troy sighed. "For me, it's not just paranoia; I know that they actually _are _watching me."

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you go through this whenever you first stood up for Ryan?" Taylor asked, a little confused. "A lot of the school thought you were gay, then, especially considering that picture of you two. And I thought you said then that their opinions didn't matter."

"They don't," Troy insisted. "It's just…" Troy seemed to be groping for the right words for a second. "It's one thing to say that sorta thing, when you think you're so sure of yourself. I mean, I knew that they were saying it because I saved Ryan from those jocks, and I knew that I did it just because he was my friend. I knew they were wrong, so that made it easy for me to just ignore them." Troy's expression turned to sadness. "It's not as easy when I know that's it's the truth. This whole gay thing is new to me, and I haven't learned how to ignore all these homophobic comments yet. And that this was what I inflicted on Ryan. Only worse." Troy sighed. "And when I brought that up with Ryan this morning, he just told me that he'd already forgiven me for the umpteenth time. All the while, I can't help but think that he might even be the slightest bit satisfied that I get to feel what he felt."

"I'm sure Ryan doesn't feel that way," Taylor tried to reassure him.

"I'm not," Troy replied. "He's upset with me, Taylor. I fucked up last night, fucked up big time. And it sucks because he won't admit that he's upset with me. He's doing his 'fake smile, play it off and pretend it never happened' routine." Troy shrugged. "That's why I wore the shirt; I was hoping he would see that I still care, so that he would forgive me."

"Did he?" Taylor asked, curiously.

"His eyes softened for a bit, and I think he appreciated it," Troy admitted. "I might have even gotten something more out of it, if one of Cross's friends hadn't passed by us and made a stupid comment about two fags." Troy smiled uneasily. " Like I said, I'm not as thick-skinned as Ryan is, so it bothered me. And when I stopped looking down at the floor and gazed back at him, the moment was lost." Troy barked a laugh. "So here I am, still at school with this shirt on, practically daring people to slam me. And I can't change it, either, because then Ryan might think that I'm ashamed of being with him." Troy barked a laugh. "Though my dad's reaction was priceless, this morning. He was drinking his coffee at home, when I came down the stairs and into the kitchen. I swear, he spit that coffee all the way across the room."

"So you told your parents already," Taylor assumed, looking for confirmation.

Troy nodded. "My mom's kinda uncomfortable about it, but she's dealing…. My dad… that's gonna take some time."

The two walked in silence for a moment, as Taylor had no idea what to say to that.

"I heard some juicy rumours that you might be interested in," Taylor said, changing the subject. "About a certain former friend of mine. Cassandra from my Calculus class said that Nancy from her English class said that Gabriella's been seen with three or four different guys since she broke up with you."

"Three or four?" Troy asked, his voice shocked. "I thought it was just Jason Cross," he blurted out.

"Jason?" Taylor demanded. She looked at Troy, as if to see if he was joking. "You… you sound pretty sure about it."

"I saw them together on Friday night," Troy quietly confirmed. "I came really close to beating Jason to death. Even if I'm not with Gabriella any more, it still pisses me the fuck off that she was cheating on me with him."

"Oh, I hope she used protection," Taylor fretted. "Because somebody mentioned today that somebody else found some medication in Cross's locker… It's that one that they use to treat genital herpes. I forget what they call it, but it's on all those ads." Taylor shrugged. "Even if the stuff works, that's not worth taking chances, right?"

Troy looked at her for a moment, then began laughing. "Thanks, Taylor, you have just made my day," he said, in between guffaws.

"Any… time, Troy," Taylor looked confused. "What's so funny about Jason having herpes?"

"When it's all just rumours spread by Sharpay," Troy finally managed to explain. They finally reached Troy's locker, and found Ryan and Chad talking quietly, but intently.

"Hey, Troy," Ryan said, a slight smile on his face. And from what Troy could tell, a genuine smile.

"Well, hey yourself," Troy said, the grin on his face growing bigger at the sight of Ryan actually smiling at him. Troy approached his boyfriend. "Do you mind if I… or maybe not here?" He hoped his tone left no doubt as to what he was talking about.

"Just a small one," Ryan said, understanding what Troy meant. "After all, we wouldn't want to make too big of a scene here." Ryan smiled gently, before Troy leaned over and gave Ryan a peck on the lips.

"It doesn't seem like much, but it's a lot to me. And it makes all of this worth it," Troy said, quietly, so that only Ryan could hear him. Ryan smiled as he took Troy's hand in his own. Troy could see out of the corner of his eye that one or two of his fellow students had caught the kiss and now the handholding, and that they were now scowling in disgust. Frankly, Troy didn't give a damn. Ryan gave him strength, and hopefully Troy would be able to acquire Ryan's ability to ignore bigots like them.

"What, no kiss for me, Bolton?" Chad asked, jokingly.

"Chad, I wouldn't be able to stop at just a kiss," Troy said, in a deadpan voice.

"Dude, I swear… Stop hanging around Evans, here!" Chad said, a shocked look on his face. "You're getting all his bad habits. I'm not gay, and besides, Troy… it would be like, incest or something."

Taylor laughed. "I can vouch for Chad, here," she said. "He's not gay."

"Thank you," Chad said, gratefully. "These two keep trying to get me into a threesome or something."

"Well, you should take that as a compliment, Chad," Taylor pointed out. "After all, they are two of the hottest guys in East High."

"Not you, too, Taylor," Chad whined. Then he grinned. "But Troy, you're not gonna believe what I heard about Cross."

"That he has herpes?" Troy guessed.

"I heard gonorrhea," Chad said, not looking quite as happy as before. "So which one's right?"

"Neither," Ryan interjected. " As far as I know, at least. Sharpay's already hard at work with the rumour campaign." He looked over at Troy. "You forgot to mention that you made your peace with her the other night."

"You were really tired on Friday night," Troy explained. "I thought I'd let you sleep, instead. Then I just didn't think about it." Left unsaid was the fact that he had since been preoccupied with his current crisis with Ryan.

"Well, she was actually asking me questions about you last night," Ryan replied. "And not the usual questions of what the hell do you see in him, and why are you with somebody that's going to end up hurting you again? Though those came up as well," Ryan admitted. "I think she's actually gonna give you an honest chance, Troy."

"So Sharpay's spreading the rumours?" Taylor asked.

"Her, and Zeke, and a few others," Ryan said, shrugging. "She's been pretty sneaky about it, too, so it's gonna take a while for Gabriella and Jason to realize just who the source of the rumours are. And it won't matter by that time; graduation's coming up, and it'll be impossible to save their reputations." Ryan grinned. "And Sharpay said that the rumours were just the beginning; she said she's got something special planned for Wednesday."

"Man, I'm sure glad Sharpay isn't gunning for me," Chad said with feeling. "Dude, your sister's, like, freaky scary sometimes."

"Try living with her," was Ryan's dry response.

"Or dating her brother," Troy added in as well.

"Speaking of my sister, though, she wanted to make a special point to invite you to our karaoke night on Thursday," Ryan said, smiling. "I wasn't gonna bring it up with her, at least till you two patched things up, but she actually brought it up herself."

"Really?" Troy asked, surprised. "That sounds like fun. Assuming she actually lets me sing at all."

"I'll make sure you get a turn," Ryan promised.

qpqp

"Fuck! Shit!" Troy cursed loudly as his truck's engine made a whining noise but still failed to restart. It was early Wednesday morning, and Troy was attempting to get to school. His truck had done well enough, starting up after only two tries (which was pretty good, considering the state of his truck), but less than halfway to school it had started producing rather alarming results. First there had been the steady climb of the heat gauge. Troy began hoping that he could get to school before the overheat became a serious problem, but a rhythmic clunking noise had quickly put the kibosh to that, and Troy had finally pulled off into a nearby grocery store parking lot and stopped his truck.

Troy had tried restarting it after a short pause, but had failed. He waited a little while longer. Tried it again. Another failure. Finally, one more attempt had been made, and its unsatisfactory outcome had led to Troy calling his truck every single name in the book, including some that technically didn't fit the situation, but made Troy feel just the slightest bit better.

Chad took the same route to school as Troy, so he was Troy's first choice of rescuer. Troy had absolutely no idea how he was going to come up with the money to pay for the repairs on his truck (which he assumed were probably going to be very expensive) but at this point, he was concentrating on his original goal of reaching school. Chad's phone went directly to voicemail, however, meaning that the dark-skinned boy had probably forgotten to turn it on that morning. A case that Troy was far too familiar with- he had long since lost count of all the times that Chad had been late meeting up with Troy in the morning and was unreachable due to his powered-down cell phone.

With a sigh, Troy hit the number on speed dial that he now used more than any of the others. Ryan's ringback tone was the same one that he had heard when he had called Monday and Tuesday nights- it had been changed since Sunday night. And while Ryan had tried to explain to Troy that the words bore no significance to their relationship and was merely a reflection of his current obsession with Aida, Troy privately thought that that explanation was complete bunk. Who'd have thought that confidence could die? Not me? That all I took for granted was a lie? Troy was fairly certain that he could actually get some good clues as to Ryan's emotional state and well-being merely by listening to his ringback tone. And the current clues were informing him that unless he got his shit together soon, the implosion of their relationship was nigh. And on another, rather more disturbing note -to Troy, at least- he was fairly certain that he actually recognized the man's voice in the song. A sign that Ryan had corrupted him and gotten him hooked on musicals.

"Hey, Troy," Ryan's rather chipper voice sounded like music to Troy's ears. "What's up? I'm about five minutes away from school; you get impatient waiting for me?"

"Um…" Troy said, really hating the fact that he had to ask for help. It wasn't because it was Ryan or anything; Troy just didn't like being dependent on others. Last time he'd let anybody call the shots for him (though Sharpay would've tried even if he hadn't let her) he'd come to within a hair's breadth of losing his friends for good. Luckily, he had caught himself in time, and had won everybody back. Well, Gabi too, but every silver lining had to have a bit of a cloud, didn't it?

"My truck sorta crapped out," Troy confessed. "I got about halfway to school, and it started overheating. I figured after it started making horrible noises that I should probably pull over. Now it's not starting up again. And even if it did, I probably shouldn't be driving it anywhere."

"And you need a knight in shining armour?" Ryan guessed.

"If it's not too much trouble," Troy said, wincing.

Ryan sighed. "Where are you at?" Troy told him where the grocery store was. "You do know we're probably going to be late for class, don't you?"

"Never mind," Troy said, a little annoyed. "You go ahead and go to class; I'll figure out some other way to get to school."

"I didn't mean it like that, Troy," Ryan protested. "I was just mentioning it."

"Sorry," Troy said, feeling guilty for snapping at Ryan. "I'm just… I can't really afford to fix my truck, if there's anything majorly wrong with it."

"I'll be there as soon as I can, Troy," Ryan promised. "I'll see you soon."

"Thanks, Ryan," Troy said, gratefully. With that, Troy ended the call and put away his cell phone. It would probably take Ryan about twenty minutes to get there, at least. So, for want of anything better to do, Troy popped open the hood of his truck and attempted to see if he could figure out what had happened.

A cloud of steam greeted him as he propped it open, causing coughing and frantic waving away of the steam. Troy knew the basics of car maintenance- far more than his boyfriend, he'd bet- but still not a whole lot. And definitely not enough to diagnose what was wrong with his truck. Still, Troy could check the coolant and oil levels, and began doing so while trying to avoid ruining his clothes. He wasn't as opposed to getting mussed as Ryan seemed to be, but engine oil was one thing Troy really didn't want to get on his school clothes.

"Nice ass," called a voice from behind him. Troy jumped in surprise, barely avoiding hitting his head on the propped-up hood. Troy turned around to see the smiling face of his boyfriend. "So, are you needing a ride, Mr. Bolton?"

"If you don't mind, Mr. Evans," Troy responded, bowing politely towards the blonde. "Let me close the hood and grab my bag real quick."

"No hurry," Ryan said, shrugging as he watched Troy close the hood of his truck. "We're gonna be late anyway; not much point to arrive halfway through homeroom."

"Still," Troy said, slamming his truck door closed, "I wouldn't want to be responsible for holding you up; plus, the teachers might get suspicious when we're both missing."

"We don't have any morning classes together, Troy," Ryan reminded him as the brunette got into the convertible. "Chad's gonna be the only suspicious one."

"True," Troy conceded. There was a brief silence as Ryan pulled out of the parking lot and started down the road. "So where's Kelsi this morning? Doesn't she usually ride with you?"

"I dropped her off before I came to get you," Ryan said, looking over at Troy. "My convertible's really not big enough for three people, even when one of them is little Kelsi. Plus," Ryan added, "I didn't think we should make _her_ late for class." Troy conceded the point. "Umm," Ryan said, somewhat diffidently. "I'll understand if you don't want to, but I figured… till you get your truck fixed, I wouldn't mind picking you up in the morning. I've already talked to Kelsi, and she doesn't mind taking the bus again, either, so…" Ryan, looking over to see how his idea was being received, was rewarded by a blank look on Troy's face. "If it's a bad idea, just tell me-"

"Why are you offering this?" Troy interrupted.

"I thought it would a nice gesture," Ryan explained, seemingly a little confused. "I mean, I thought we were still together; this seems like something a boyfriend should do…"

"Why are you giving me so many mixed signals?" Troy asked, frustrated. "And don't give me a 'I don't know what you mean'; you know exactly what I mean." Troy sighed in exasperation. "You've been acting like nothing's out of the ordinary the last few days, like we're just fine and dandy. But your body language… it's been telling me loud and clear that I've fucked up, yet again. But you're not giving me a chance to fix it, since you won't admit that anything's wrong. I mean, I appreciate the nice gesture, but it's not helping anything. So why offer me a ride when you're halfway acting like you don't want anything to do with me, any more?"

"You're always asking me why I say and do things," Ryan observed in a neutral tone, not responding to any of Troy's questions. "But you'll notice that I've almost never put any pressure on you to do the same. Perhaps I _should_ ask why you've been acting like such a great boyfriend towards me, supporting me at school, and even coming out to the student body, and then you're apparently not even looking for love or anything resembling that. And you accuse _me_ of giving off mixed signals… " Ryan shrugged. "Maybe I thought that if I held up my end of the bargain and did things for you, like rides to school, you might reconsider. Guess not." Ryan let out a laugh that held no mirth. "Or maybe it's the simple fact that even if you weren't my boyfriend, I still would've offered you a ride to school; after all, I'm not dating Kelsi but I was giving her rides to school. Sorta seemed like the thing that friends do for each other. Or am I wrong?"

Ryan's mention of the word love had once again caused that now regular quesiness in Troy's stomach. But Ryan had a point, and Troy, by now, had realized that saying 'no' to a ride would definitely be sending a wrong message to Ryan. Fuck. He really _was_ sending mixed messages; not just to Ryan but to himself. He didn't want to send the wrong message to Ryan about the ride, yet he was almost daring Ryan to actually get angry with him and maybe dump him? God, he was confused.

"Thanks for the ride to school," Troy said, quietly. "And also for the offer to drive me till my truck gets fixed; I appreciate it." At this point, quiet civility was all Troy had left.

"So you're gonna take the offer, now?" Ryan asked, resigned.

"If it's not too much trouble," Troy replied, softly. He wasn't about to address the underlying issue while he was still confused about things, but he knew that Ryan had a genuine point. Whatever Ryan had said or done over the weekend that might've led him to believe that he was at fault, Troy knew that he had deftly managed to fuck things up enough that now it was all _his _fault.

"The _ride_ won't be too much trouble," said Ryan, "but sooner or later I'm not going to let you avoid this any more. And you're going to have to make a choice, one way or the other. Because I'm not going to let myself get hurt again," Ryan added, pointedly. The rest of the car ride was awkwardly silent, as Ryan had said all he was going to, and all that Troy would've been able to utter were hollow protestations that he would never hurt Ryan. Hollow, since every word that had come out of his mouth lately had hurt Ryan. Every word, and every action.

'Tell him, you idiot.'

'I'm not going to tell him just for an easy fix,' Troy argued with himself. 'He won't buy it, and it'll make things worse.'

They both ended up missing homeroom; luckily, Troy's homeroom teacher seldom marked attendence, and apparently Ryan's was pretty much the same way.

The beginning of the day was just as boring as usual- or at least it seemed so to Troy; he really wasn't sure, as he really wasn't paying any attention to his classes. Privately, Troy was actually grateful that he'd earned good enough grades thus far to guarantee his graduation; that way, these days spent in contemplation- which were cropping up with greater frequency- weren't going to affect his chances of getting into college.

When it was time for free period, Troy found himself by his locker, waiting for Ryan, Chad, or anybody else that happened to show up.

"Troy!" Chad called out as he rushed up to his friend, his curly hair bouncing. "Dude, have you heard about what happened to Jason?" Chad was practically grinning ear to ear.

That was enough to knock Troy out of his funk. "This has got to be good," Troy said, beginning to smile.

"Trust me, it is," Chad said confidently. "Apparently somebody hung up a condom on his gym locker door, with a little note that said something like 'here's a new one, too bad the last one didn't do any good.' Dude, it was great."

"Jason's in my gym class," Troy said, grinning. "He won't see it till sixth period."

"I know!" Chad replied, gleefully. "Everybody in my weightlifting class was talking about it; some of them think it's a reference to the STDs that everybody 'knows' he has. There were a couple of guys that actually came close to the truth, that he got some girl pregnant."

Troy sighed. "I guess Sharpay didn't really listen to me when I told her I hoped she wouldn't drag the pregnancy into her plot. Ryan didn't really want that stuff spread around."

"What's done is done," replied a soft voice from behind Troy. Troy jerked around, surprised. Ryan was standing there, an unreadable look on his face. "I knew that Sharpay couldn't sit on it forever," Ryan continued, his voice still low and soft. "At least this way, she started the rumour on the Jason end. That way, when Gabriella's pregnancy gets revealed, it'll more or less be assumed that it's Jason's and not yours." Then Ryan smiled at Troy, though it was only fleeting.

It was at this time that Troy realized that something had happened. Or rather, had failed to happen. He wasn't sure if it was deliberate or not, but Ryan was keeping a more than respectable difference from Troy. Since their first day at school of being out of the closet, the two, even with their tense and uncertain relationship, had made a special point to show the school that they were a couple. They'd held hands while walking through the hallways. Ryan had more than once picked an apparently invisible piece of lint from Troy's shirt. And once in a while, especially when they joined back up after a stint of classes, they'd greet each other with a peck on the cheek or lips. Something like that.

So the fact that Ryan didn't seem interested in anything like that worried Troy, and he bit back a frown. And Ryan now seemed to be awfully interested in the floor, for some reason. Enough to be looking it instead of Troy as he switched topics. "Kelsi asked me to listen to her newest composition and give her my thoughts on it; free period's the only time we can really do that." Ryan, after finishing his dialogue with the floor, looked up at Troy, who could only assume that the sentence was actually aimed at him. Troy opened his mouth to speak, but Ryan continued. "I just thought I'd let you know where I was going to be. See you at lunch?"

"Sure," Troy replied, for lack of anything better to say. And as Troy stood there, wide mouthed, Ryan turned around and walked away. "I said something wrong this morning," Troy admitted to Chad. "It's all I seem to be doing, nowadays."

"You haven't made it up to him yet?" Chad asked in an annoyed tone. "Do you need me to knock some sense into you? Or maybe chuck another basketball at your stomach?"

"I can take care of it, Chad," Troy said, sighing. "I upset him, so it's up to me to fix it."

"Well, you're doing a bang-up job so far," Chad said, sarcastically.

qpqp

"Hank over at the garage called about your truck," Coach Bolton said to Troy, after knocking at his son's door. After his gym class, Troy stopped by his dad's office and had let him know about his truck problems, and Jack Bolton had called a mechanic friend of his and had had Troy's truck towed to a garage.

"What's wrong with it?" Troy asked, afraid to hear the answer.

"You had a crack in the radiator," Coach Bolton said. "If you'd kept driving it you probably would've locked the engine up and that would've meant replacing the entire engine."

"So it's fixable?" Troy asked, though he pretty much knew the answer already.

"It's not too big of a job," his dad said, smiling a little. "It could've been much worse, but it's still gonna cost some money."

"Damn," Troy said, cursing. "I don't really have that much saved up right now."

"I think we'll be able to swing it, Troy," Coach Bolton replied. "You need a vehicle, and your mother pointed out that neither of us have the time to drive you around. I've already told Hank to start working on it as soon as he can."

"Thanks, Dad," Troy said, gratefully. "I really like that truck." Especially because he and Ryan had spent some good times in it. "And I'll pay you back as soon as I can."

"Don't worry about that, Troy," Coach Bolton said. "But if you… if you don't want to ride the bus to school, since you're a senior and all, and it's not cool, you could always ride in with me," Coach Bolton offered. "I know that's a bit early in the morning for you, but I thought I'd mention it anyway."

"Thanks, Dad," Troy said, meaning it. "But Ryan already offered to come get me in the morning."

"That was… that was nice of him," Coach Bolton managed to get out; Troy could tell that those words had been hard for his dad to say. Even if he was getting used to Troy being gay, or at least bi, Jack Bolton was definitely not used to the idea of Troy actually _having_ a boyfriend. Especially not a boyfriend who was rather more effeminate and more into drama than sports. "Well, I won't keep you from your homework anymore. I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything more about your truck. Good night, Troy."

"Night, Dad," Troy responded, giving him a slight wave. "And thanks again." As soon as his father had left and closed the door behind him, Troy picked up his cell phone. He had to let Ryan know about his truck… and that he was looking forward to seeing him in the morning. Troy wasn't sure if these little gestures were enough, anymore, but he still persisted in doing them; if he stopped altogether, they might send Ryan the wrong message.

'Of course, you know the only message that'll fix things,' said that damn voice. 'Three little words. Better hurry up, hotshot; you've almost missed your window. Wait too long, and it'll be too late.'

qpqp

"Hope you weren't staring at us, Bolton!" jeered a voice from the shower room. Troy, who was leaving the showers with only a towel slung around his wait, didn't respond. So far every shower he'd had to take after his sixth period weightlifting class had gone about as well. Even if a good portion of his classmates weren't actually verbalizing their disgust for his 'perversion,' they were still making it clear that being around Troy in an unclothed state made them more than uncomfortable.

Troy turned the corner fast, and bumped into another towel-clad student. Troy nearly had to regain his balance by grabbing the other guy's shoulder, and was extremely glad that he hadn't when he realized that it was Jason Cross.

"Bolton," Jason replied, a dark look on his face.

"Cross," Troy responded back, disgust in his voice. Frustration over his and Ryan's relationship and his inability to say the words that would heal the breach was making Troy want to get at least some aggression out. Ryan hadn't even so much as touched Troy since Tuesday- the day before the truck incident. Now, two days later, and Troy was ready to pound on Jason- it had to be at least partially his fault. Somehow. Troy grinned at Jason, unpleasantly. "I heard somebody left you a little present yesterday. Too bad I didn't get to see it at all, but I think Zeke got a picture of it on his phone."

"You fucker," Jason said, shoving Troy a little. "I know you're spreading lies about me, and I've heard what they're saying about Gabi, too."

"Lies, Jason?" Troy said, not backing down. "We both know the pregnancy rumour's not a lie." Jason turned pale at that. "What, Gabi didn't tell you we knew? Wow, I wonder what else she hasn't told you? Maybe those other rumours aren't lies, either."

"Shut the fuck up, Bolton!" Jason yelled, as some of the other students poked their heads around the corner to find out who was fighting. "Gabi wouldn't cheat on me!"

"Why not? She cheated on _me_," Troy said, his voice heated. Jason seemed to be turning redder and redder every second. "If she wasn't faithful to me, why should she suddenly change her tune and stay faithful to you? I mean, why should _you_ deserve that, even if she's carrying _your_ kid?" There was a resulting chorus of gasps from most of the class, who had congregated in the hallway to witness Troy's and Jason's confrontation.

"I… She…" Jason sputtered.

"Turnabout's fair play, Cross," Troy said, leaning forward and speaking so that only Jason could hear him. "You tried to fuck up my friendship with Ryan, you tried to fuck up our chances at a relationship, and then if that wasn't enough you tried to damage my relationship with my parents. It's my turn now, Jason. Now you're _my_ bitch."

"Fuck you!" Jason yelled out, his words barely recognizable as they came out so full of rage and hate. He looked ready to start a fight with Troy right then and there, regardless of the fact that both of them were wearing naught but a towel.

"What's going on here?" called out the voice of authority. In this case, the voice of authority happened to be none other than Troy's father.

"Just had to have a few words with Cross," Troy said, calmly. "I think he was about to go take a shower now, cool off and all that. And I've got class to get to." With that, Troy stood to the side and let Jason pass by him to enter the shower room, everybody staring at him with a variety of emotions on their faces.

"Let's go, guys!" Coach Bolton finally called. "The show's over." After standing there for a while, to make sure everybody had gotten his point, he followed Troy into the locker room, where his son was already slipping on his jeans. "Troy, you're my son," Coach Bolton began, "but I've told you before; you start a fight on school property, and I'll have to report you, too. I can't show any favouritism, or I could lose my job."

"I'm not asking you to show me any favouritism, Dad," Troy said, unconcerned. "I'm a big boy, and I can accept the consequences of my actions."

"Like suspension?" Coach Bolton asked, incredulously. "Or losing your scholarship?"

"I had more than twenty witnesses that would've said that I didn't touch him, at all. I wasn't even yelling at him, much. How could they suspend me for that?" Troy finished putting his shirt on, and hefted his backpack up.

"I just don't want to see you get into trouble," Coach Bolton said, sighing. "I'm concerned about you, Troy. You've been kind of distant these last few days."

"Well, it's kinda hard to open up about anything, Dad, when I don't even know if you're even gonna accept me," Troy said, a little harshly.

"Umm… about that, Troy," Coach Bolton said, almost tentatively. "After dinner tonight, I was wondering if you wanted to get some practice time in and work on your basketball skills. The NBA may be a tough gig to land… but I think you could do it. And I want to see you get a decent shot at it."

Troy actually managed a slight grin after hearing that. This was the first bit of good news he'd heard all day; it definitely beat Kelsi apologetically telling Troy that Ryan wasn't going to be joining him for lunch, as he was working on something with his sister. Or before that, when Zeke had been chosen to tell Troy that Ryan had to study English with Taylor during free period. Troy at least understood why Ryan hadn't asked him to help with his English- Troy knew full well that Ryan suffered from dyslexia, and that it embarrassed him to talk to Troy about it. Troy had managed to deduce that Ryan had struggled throughout high school with it, barely managing to scrape by with passing grades. Senior year was much tougher, though, and it had taken failing grades on two major tests before Ryan had swallowed his pride and asked for help. From Gabriella, in fact. But ever since the Winter Musicale debacle, she had treated him much more coldly, and by that time he had become comfortable enough with Taylor to ask for her help instead.

"Thanks for the offer, Dad," Troy said, sincerely. "That sounds great." It was the first indicator that Troy had that things in his family might just work out fine. To be sure, Troy figured his father would always be uncomfortable about Troy and his unlikely choice of partner, but at least now he was making a real effort. Though Troy knew that the real test would come when he had Ryan over for dinner.

Coach Bolton reached over and ruffled Troy's hair briefly. "I'm not going to pretend that this is easy for me, Troy, but… I'm still proud of you, son." He cleared his throat. "You'd better… you'd better get to class, Troy. I don't want to make you late." Then his look became more pointed. "And I don't want to hear about you getting in a fight with Jason; nobody's worth that kind of trouble."

"Yes, sir," Troy said, agreeing wholeheartedly. Cross definitely wasn't worth it. "I'll see you at home, Dad," Troy said, walking backwards a ways before turning around and heading to his last period class. This was good, no, great news; he was sure Ryan would be happy for him. Ok, maybe not sure. Hoping was closer to the truth.

As Troy approached his class, Ryan was standing in the hallway, waiting for him. He'd made of habit of that since Monday.

"You're cutting it pretty close, Bolton," Ryan said, an unreadable look on his face. "Bell's about to ring."

"Sorry," Troy said, his elation dying just a little bit at Ryan's less than open greeting. "I got into an argument with Cross, and ended up telling the whole locker room about him and Gabi."

A frown briefly crossed Ryan's face, before he smoothed it out. "I guess he had it coming," Ryan said, and his tone almost sounded sad. "At least the two of you didn't start a fight, though. I don't want to see you get in trouble because of him."

"Nobody seems to," Troy responded, drily. "That's what my dad told me, too. Oh, and he also said-"

"Sorry, Troy," Ryan said, cutting him off. "But class is about to start; tell me afterwards?"

"Okay," Troy said, agreeably. And he followed his blonde boyfriend into the room, as the bell started ringing. Troy spent the next fifty minutes figuring how to use the upcoming weekend to show Ryan that even if Troy wasn't going to say… wasn't going to say… ok, even if he wasn't going 'I love you,' he still cared about Ryan a lot, and that it didn't mean the end of their relationship. After all, for that matter, Ryan hadn't actually said the words either, yet. So why was it such a big deal that Troy hadn't?

'Because you know that he does, and he thought that you did,' that hateful voice informed him. 'So now he feels stupid that you don't feel the same way that he does.'

As soon as class was over, Troy had to postpone his announcement, as Taylor and Ryan were walking next to each other, talking about the day's tutoring or something. That left Troy walking beside Kelsi.

"Troy, whats going on with you two?" Kelsi asked in her quiet voice. "I know that there's something going on, but Ryan won't tell me what."

"Don't worry about it, Kelsi, I'll handle it," Troy promised, not wanting to explain in precise detail how he'd fucked up. The group parted ways at the end of the corridor- Taylor had a Chem Club meeting, Kelsi had a bus to catch, and Troy and Ryan were headed towards Ryan's locker.

"So, what were you going to tell me earlier?" Ryan asked, opening up his locker.

"I think my dad's finally beginning to come around," Troy said, excitedly. "He's offered to help me work on my basketball skills so that I can actually reach the NBA." Troy shrugged. "Even if I end up choosing not to go beyond college ball, it would be still be nice to make a mark as that really great basketball player that achieved his dreams and didn't let his sexual orientation get in his way."

"You would be a good role model to all those gay athletes that follow in your footsteps," Ryan agreed, taking a few books from his messenger bag and placing them in his locker. "When are you two going to play? I mean, it sounds like you said yes."

"I did," Troy nodded. "Tonight, after he gets home from school." As soon as Troy said those words, he saw Ryan freeze. Even with his view of the blonde obscured by the locker door, he could tell that his words had affected Ryan. Then, the moment was over and Ryan began to stuff books in his messenger bag in a hurry. "What? What's wrong?" Troy asked, confused.

"Could you get a ride home from Chad tonight?" Ryan asked, closing his locker door hard. "I don't think I'll be able to drive you tonight." With that, Ryan turned and walked away, quickly heading towards the student parking lot.

"Ryan! Ryan, wait!" Troy called, hurrying after him. "What did I do this time?" Ryan ignored him and picked up his speed, weaving through the crush of people. Troy tried to keep up, but his bulkier (in comparison to Ryan) frame prevented him from using some of the rather narrow gaps that Ryan managed to fit through.

Troy finally managed to catch up to Ryan in the parking lot, halfway to his blue convertible. Panting, Troy managed to catch Ryan's arm and stop him. Ryan angrily jerked his arm from Troy's grasp.

"Don't run," Troy said, pleadingly. "Just tell me what's wrong."

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Ryan said, his voice rising with every syllable. "What's wrong is that I'm tired of being treated like an afterthought by my boyfriend! I'm tired of having my emotions toyed around with! _That's _what's wrong, Bolton!"

"Huh?" Troy said, intelligently.

"Thursday night," Ryan said, speaking slowly as if to a small child. "Can you think of any prior obligation you may have had on Thursday night?"

Troy thought furiously. Thursday night… Something with Ryan… Oh, fuck. "Karaoke!" Troy said with a groan.

"Now you remember," Ryan said, his voice full of sarcasm.

"It's not a big deal," Troy said, hastily. "I'll tell my dad I forgot about having plans tonight, and we'll do it another night. See? Fixed!" Troy looked at Ryan, hopefully.

"No, not fixed, Troy," Ryan said, anger still in his tone. "It's not about the karaoke anymore, Troy, it's the fact that you're still stringing me along! You're playing havoc with my emotions, and I can't take it any more. Do you remember when I told you that sooner or later I wasn't going to let you avoid things anymore and that you'd have to make a choice? Well, guess what, Troy, that'd be right now."

"Right now?" Troy said, alarmed. "Fuck, Ryan, I don't even know what to say right now. I thought you've give me a little more than a day and a half."

"Well, I'd say that if the proper response doesn't come to you immediately, I'd call that an indicator," Ryan said, his voice suddenly sad. "You know what, I am actually sorry about all this, Troy. I brought up the issue sooner than I should have." Ryan shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I didn't think it would be such a big deal; since I've known how I've felt about you for about three months, now."

"What?" Troy was having real problems contributing intelligently to this particular conversation.

"You heard what I said," Ryan said, sadly. "I've loved you for the last three months; maybe more. And I felt bad about that at first, because you were having problems in your relationship with Gabi." Ryan laughed, harshly. "And I'm surprised that that first picture that your friends took didn't clue you in. Oh, it wasn't like I was taking advantage of you," Ryan said, as Troy looked surprised. "I really put you to bed solely because I was worried about you and wanted to make sure you were alright, especially when you seemed so upset. But laying there with you had been something I'd dreamt about for so long, that I'm not surprised that I gravitated towards you in my sleep." Ryan shook his head. "Love was why, when you betrayed me to the student body of East High, I took it so hard. The reason why I took so long to forgive you, yet also the reason why I forgave you anyway. And why I became your boyfriend." By this point, Ryan had started crying. "But it doesn't feel like you're with me anymore, Troy." Troy opened his mouth to protest, but Ryan plowed on. "You're doing all the right things, and saying some of the right things," Ryan amplified, "but it's the things you're not saying that makes me feel alone in this. And it would be one thing if you even gave any indicators that you _could_ love me, someday, but… nothing."

Troy was beginning to tear up by this time, because every one of Ryan's words made sense… yet still felt horribly wrong to him. But Ryan wasn't even giving him a chance to explain himself. It felt like déjà vu all over again; Troy trying but unable to talk as Ryan ran roughshod over the entire conversation. Troy suddenly knew the words that could stop this freight train; he still hadn't settled his doubts that they weren't right yet, but if not now, when?

And Troy had just opened his mouth to say them when Ryan put his fingers in Troy's mouth. "Please, don't," Ryan whispered. "It'll just make it worse. I know how you feel about saying 'I love you' without genuinely meaning it. And if you say it now, it's just gonna feel like you're just saying it to fix things. I can't take that, Troy. Say it when you honestly love me. When you're _in_ love with me." Ryan sighed. "Maybe we just need a break. Maybe we started off too fast, and we need to cool down a little bit."

"Are we… are we breaking up?" Troy asked, his eyes brimming with unshed tears, his worst fears realized. "Please, I…" Troy didn't know what to say; the only words he thought he could say were now the words that Ryan didn't want him to say. And Ryan was right- Troy would be saying them just to fix things.

"Just a break, Troy," Ryan said, openly crying.

"Can I help at all?" came a voice from behind them. Troy turned around to see Zeke, a look of concern on his face.

"Troy needs a ride home," Ryan managed to say, emotion choking his voice.

"Of course," Zeke said immediately. "But is there anything else?"

Ryan shook his head. "I don't think so, Zeke. Thanks, though." The three stood there in silence, until Ryan seemed to make up his mind about something and he approached Troy. "I'm sorry," Ryan whispered in Troy's ear. Then he kissed him on the cheek, and turned to go but found himself pulled back by Troy.

"Not as sorry as I am," Troy mumbled, as he kissed Ryan on the lips, not a violent kiss but one full of meaning. Ryan backed up, rubbing at his lips, and quickly got into his convertible and drove away.

"Troy, I-," Zeke began, but Troy held a hand out.

"Please, not now, Zeke," Troy said, trying so hard to hold in his tears. "Could we just… could we just go?"

"Yeah," Zeke said, sighing. "Do you need anything from your locker?"

"Probably, but I don't care," Troy said, flatly. "Just… I need to go home." His last words were pleading.

"Get in," Zeke said, gesturing.

The ride to Troy's house was mostly silent, as Troy didn't feel like talking and Zeke wasn't sure what to say. "Ryan looked pretty upset," Zeke finally said, broaching the subject. "I guess he probably won't feel like partying tomorrow; I wonder if I should postpone everything."

"Just have your damned party, Zeke!" Troy burst out, angrily. "He promised he'd be there and help you with it, and drag Sharpay along. Ryan keeps his promises; I'm the fucker who can't keep 'em. Ryan'll show up, and you'll hook up with Sharpay, and live happily ever fucking after."

"Troy, I know you're upset, so I'm not going to get too mad at you right now, but otherwise you are totally cruisin' for a beat down," Zeke said, angrily. "Do you really think so fuckin' little of me that all I care about is hooking up with Sharpay? Fuck, Troy, you're my friend, Ryan's my friend, and I thought the two of you were great together, and I hate the fact that you won't let me help you."

Troy's face flushed with humiliation, as Zeke's words sank in. "You're right, dude," Troy admitted. "I'm just so fuckin' angry at myself for not saying or doing anything while Ryan pretty much ended our relationship! But he wouldn't let me get a single word in!"

"And I think that you chose not to interrupt, because you still don't know how you feel," Zeke countered. Troy had no response to that, and the rest of the ride was spent in silence.

Troy had the car door open almost before Zeke had come to a complete stop, and mumbled a thank you as he hurriedly got out. He breezed past his mom who tried to ask him how his day was, and went into his room and locked the door. Throwing his book bag on the floor, Troy flopped down on his bed and put his pillow over his head. He wasn't the least bit tired, but he knew that sleep was the only way he could stop all those thoughts that were coursing through his mind and giving him a headache.

Dinnertime came and went, without an appearance by Troy. Both his mother and his father had tried knocking on his door, but he had told them that he wasn't hungry. It was a lie, he _was_ hungry, but at the same time he didn't feel like he could eat a thing. His cell phone had been turned out hours ago, after the second call from Chad- or was it the third call? After that, Troy didn't have much of a plan. All he could about manage was avoiding other people. And try not to burst into tears; it had been touch and go since that afternoon, and Troy felt like the slightest thought or word could set him off.

"Bolton! Open up this door right now!" yelled Chad's unmistakable voice from the hallway. Uh-oh. Troy's plan to avoid other people was experiencing a major setback, as Chad didn't sound like he was going to take no for an answer. "Bolton, don't make me break down this door, because I will!!" Nope, Troy definitely wasn't going to be able to avoid Chad. And… he probably wasn't going to be able to stop the crying.


	19. Get It Together, Moron!

A/N: Ok, so yet another long wait, though not as long as last time… And once you see the size of this thing, I think you'll understand… it's by far the largest chapter, almost four times as big as the first chapter. And though I considered splitting it into two parts, this chapter is best being read all at once. So here it is!! Oh, and due to my new laptop, expect this story to be written faster than usual, from now on.

Also, on a more serious note… I had this chapter almost finished… but what inspired me to finish this chapter tonight was a posting from a former fave author of mine on this site. Any Tryan fan knows this story, as it was ended abruptly by an announcement that disappoints me greatly. I'm not going to go on a huge rant about it; just accept the fact that I disagree with it totally, and it makes me mad just thinking about it. I once had a close friend, who after six months of saying I'm fine with it, suddenly started with the same malarkey… So I dedicate this chapter, and this story, to all my fans, but in particular, my gay fans! It's ok to be gay, and I love each and every one of you!!

Also, my school actually did have a weightlifting class, that met every day… We didn't have a lot of things that many other schools do, but we did have that…

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

qpqpqpqp

Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 19 - Get it Together, Moron!

"Bolton, I'm warning you," Chad's voice rang out, as Troy slowly made his way to the door to unlock it. "I really mean it, I'm gonna-" Whatever Chad was going to do was cut off as Troy opened the door. "Oh. Hey, Troy."

"Hey, Chad," Troy said in a monotone, before heading back to his bed and sitting down on the edge, his gaze fixed on some random spot of carpeting. "Were you actually going to knock the door down if I didn't answer?"

"I just said that so that you would open the door," Chad admitted. "Do you know how badly your dad would've killed me if I broke it down?" Chad sat down next to Troy, their shoulders almost touching. "Do ya… do ya wanna talk about it?"

"What's there to say?" Troy said, shrugging. "I thought I had time to fix things. Then I fucked up one time too many. He said we needed a break." Troy tried smiling, to put a brave face on it, but his effort was ruined by the tears that he'd been fighting back all night. "I don't think he's gonna give me another chance," Troy whispered. "He's not gonna think it's worth it, to give me another chance to hurt him. And I… I was this close to telling him, Chad!" Troy burst out. "All this time, and when I finally start to say it, he stops me! Claims that it would just make it worse!" Tears started rolling down Troy's cheeks. "And I know he was right, but it was all I could say! He walked away from me, from us, and I couldn't say anything." Troy covered his face with his hands, not wanting Chad to see him crying.

Chad was silent for a moment, considering Troy's words as he sat beside his oldest friend. "I think I can help," Chad finally said. "I think I know what you should do."

"Really?" Troy looked up, hope in his red, tear-filled eyes. He wiped back the tears. "Please, tell me. I don't know what to do."

"Actually, Troy, you do," Chad said, shaking his head. "You've known all along. You need to get your head out of your ass, stop avoiding the issue, and fuckin' admit how you feel about him!"

"It's as easy as that, huh?" Troy asked, his voice harsh. "That was helpful, Chad. The door's right there."

"Troy, think about it," Chad said, sighing. "This whole thing started because you wouldn't admit how you feel; that's the only way it's ever going to end, and the only way you're ever going to reunite with that boyfriend of yours."

"Still not helping, Chad," Troy said, grimacing. "I already told you, I tried to tell him earlier and he wouldn't have it. Besides, he's the one who started this mess. He's the one who said it first."

"Because Ryan was being honest about his feelings," Chad pointed out. "I mean, I know he regrets saying it, but I don't think he believed it would be such a big deal. After all, that's how he feels about you."

"How do you know?" Troy asked, sceptically. "He only officially said the words this afternoon." Troy narrowed his eyes. "Were you hiding behind a car or something today?"

Chad gave Troy a look that told him that he was being an idiot. "Dude, I'm blind as fuck about this sort of thing, but even I could tell that Evans loved the hell out of you, lord knows why. I'd say he has for some time, now."

"You're right," Troy admitted. "I just didn't want to think about it, since I still don't know how I feel."

Chad scoffed. "You really are blind, aren't you Bolton? You may say you don't know, but everybody else sure does. That's why it hurt Ryan so much; your words were telling him one thing, while your actions and body language were telling him something quite different."

"Wow, that's a great talent you have there, Chad, knowing my own feelings better than I do," Troy said, sarcastically. "No offense, bud, but I think I know myself slightly better than you do."

"You know you love him too, Troy," Chad said, seriously. "But you're too hung up on the 'knowing for sure' part. For some reason, I guess you're expecting some beam of light, or a freakin' choir of angels or something. Then you'll know that it's love you're feeling. Sorry, Troy, that's not how it is."

"And you know what love is?" Troy asked, eyebrows raised. "Correct me if I'm wrong, you've had, what, two or three relationships that lasted any time at all, and they all fizzled out pretty quickly."

"According to Taylor, love is when that special someone is the first person you think of when you wake up, and the last person you think about as you go to sleep." Chad said in a serious tone. Then he smirked. "And, there's always those thoughts you might have while you're sleeping- which I don't want to know about." Chad quickly wiped the smile off his face, as he continued. "Troy, love is a lot of different things, to a lot of different people. Personally, I think a good sign of it is when you stop thinking so much about _me_, and more about _we_. I mean, Troy, why did you come out to your parents, and at school? That was pretty gutsy, especially since you really didn't know how it was going to turn out. And really, it didn't really change _your_ life for the better. But you did it anyway. Why did you do it? Who did you do it for?"

"Us," Troy said, softly. "I really didn't want to go through with it, especially telling my parents about it. And while Ryan was putting some pressure on me to at least not act like we weren't even friends, he never told me to come out to them. I did it because I didn't want to hide our relationship. I didn't think it was right that I treated my relationship with Ryan with a dirty secret, when it felt so right, so _normal_ to me."

"And all those good times with Ryan?" Chad asked. "Like on your ice skating date? You told me the next morning that it was one of the best nights of your life. Why? Surely it wasn't because you argued about Jason and Gabi. Or the fact that you fell on your ass so many times on the ice. So what made it so great?"

"I think I see what you're getting at, Chad," Troy said, softly.

"So, seriously, Troy. If all of this isn't love to you, then I'd say you're shit outta luck. Cuz I'd say that's as real as it gets," Chad finished, shrugging.

Troy was silent for a moment, as he thought about Chad's words. "Thanks, Chad," Troy finally said, smiling at his friend. "I think you've made your point. I'm going to give this serious thought tonight." Then Troy smirked. "But only if you tell me one thing."

"What's that, Troy?" Chad asked, puzzled.

"Who the hell are you, and what have you done with my best friend?" Troy exclaimed. "I mean, Chad, you're a great friend, and I really appreciate everything you've done… But since when did you get all insightful about love?"

"Hey, screw you, Bolton," Chad said, mock-seriously. "I'll have you know that I have hidden depths. Just because _you_ have the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all do. After all, I'm not the one who can't see things that are right in front of him."

"Chad, you know that this is the pot calling the kettle black?" Troy said, giving his friend a pointed look. "This is coming from the guy that missed every single hint that Taylor dropped, and never picked up the fact that she wanted to break up until she practically yelled it at you."

"That's different," Chad said, defensively. "She was being too subtle about it; I thought she just wanted me to treat her differently or something. That's nothing like you and your willful ignorance of your own damn feelings."

"Ok, fine," Troy said, giving in. He still wanted to get to the bottom of this. "I'm still sceptical of your sudden talents with feelings and emotions, but I'll concede that that could've been all you. The words weren't, though," Troy added. "It didn't sound like you at all, Chad."

"Hmph," Chad grunted. "Not surprised, considering all the advice everybody's been giving me on what to say to you. Look at this, Troy, look at this!" Chad exclaimed, showing Troy his cell phone, and all the calls he'd gotten that night. "Why do you think I was so insistent when I was pounding at your door? My phone's been ringing all night."

"I knew it," Troy said, melodramatically. "Our friends are a bunch of busybodies."

"No kidding," Chad said, with feeling. "First it was Zeke, right after he dropped you off here. Then I called Ryan, who said he didn't want to talk, and hung up on me. So then I called Kelsi, and told _her_ to call Ryan and tell _him_ to call _me_ back." Chad shrugged. "Even with this supposed break that _he_ suggested, as soon as Ryan got the impression that I could fix things, he called me right back. We had a nice talk, in fact. Then Taylor called, because Kelsi had called _her_, and she gave me more advice on what to tell you, then Kelsi called me and did the same." Chad shrugged. "Then Zeke called me back, and then your mom actually called me."

"My mom called you?" Troy asked, shocked.

"Well, your mom said that by the way you were acting, that she figured you were having relationship problems. And she said that if it was girl problems, she would've helped you out herself. But she's still new to the gay thing, so she figured that I, your straightest friend ever, would somehow know more."

"Straightest friend ever, huh?" Troy said, giving Chad an dubious look. "That must mean that all my friends are benders."

"Fuck you, Bolton," Chad said, glaring at his best friend.

"See what I mean?" Troy said, gesturing towards Chad. Then he grinned. "Heh, I so do not want to see your phone bill for this month."

Chad winced. "I'll just watch myself for the rest of the month. But maybe you should chip in, since it's all for _your_ sorry ass."

"You actually talked to Ryan tonight?" Troy asked, realizing what Chad had previously mentioned. And trying to distract Chad from pressuring him into actually chipping in.

"For quite a bit, actually," Chad said, nodding. "He's just as broken up about this as you are, Troy, even if it was his idea. I think he was hoping that this might jar something in you, make you figure things out one way or the other."

"He told you that?" Troy asked, a little suspicious. "Mr. Ryan East High Drama King 'No, Troy, there's nothing wrong, and my depressing ringtone is just a coincidence' Evans? _I'm_ his boyfriend- was, I mean- or is." Troy sighed. "I can't actually tell if we're broken up or not. Anyway, why would he suddenly open up to you, when he hasn't told me shit?"

"Cuz it's not the first time we've talked about this," Chad replied. "He's been calling me nearly as much as you have, over the last week or so. I may have lied a little last weekend," Chad said, looking slightly guilty. "I told you on Saturday that I'd offered him a chance to talk to me, and maybe let me help out. I left out the part that I knew he'd take the offer since he's been asking for my opinion since you two got together. He called me up that night after I had arranged all those guys to help protect him from the football jocks," Chad continued, a smile on his face. "He teased me about how unnecessarily complicated it was, but thanked me for caring enough to do that for him." Chad shrugged. "I guess he forgave me for helping you out him to the school, because he called me again the next week, after you started pulling back from him and all but pretending that you weren't friends with him. He even said that we might as well be close friends since I'm in the other man in your life," Chad added, chuckling.

"He said all that?" Troy asked, surprised. "Why didn't either of you tell me, then?"

"He asked me not to," Chad confessed. "He said he appreciated having a guy friend to confide to that wasn't his boyfriend. And that if you found out, you might try to interrogate me or something." Chad shrugged. "I told him it was his fault if you got mad about it." Chad gave Troy a pointed look. "Are you going to?"

"I should, but I don't have the energy," Troy replied, wearily. "At this point, I think it just hurts that Ryan didn't think enough of me to tell me any of this. I know you mean well, Chad, but hearing that my own boyfriend told you more than he told me kinda hurts."

"It's not like that, Troy," Chad protested. "He wanted to tell you, but he was afraid he'd make things worse. But you're right; he should've told you all this. So why don't you tell him that? Right after you tell him you love him, of course."

"You seem so sure that I'm gonna say that," Troy said, laying back on his bed and staring at the ceiling. "How do you know I won't just choose to hyperventilate and breathe through a paper bag?"

"Actually, I figured you'd do both," Chad countered. "But seriously, Bolton, figure it out. You have till tomorrow night."

"What's tomorrow night?" Troy asked, confused.

"Zeke's party," Chad reminded him. "You promised you'd be there, and so did Ryan. It's probably better than school, and Evans won't be there tomorrow, anyway."

"He won't?" Troy asked.

"He asked me to give you a ride to school tomorrow," Chad explained. "Said he was exhausted from everything that's been going on, and that he wanted to be rested for the party tomorrow night. See, Troy?" Chad pointed out. "Even with everything that's going on, he still thought about you enough to find a ride for you. You two are meant for each other, and I am totally gonna lose respect for you Bolton if you mess this up. Evans is a great guy, and I can't believe that you'd be willing to throw that away just because you won't listen to your own feelings."

"You really think we're meant for each other?" Troy asked, in a timid voice.

"I really do, Troy," Chad said, honesty ringing in his voice. "It took me a while to get used to the idea that my best friend was gay and dating an Evans… but you'd be surprised how easy it was for me when I saw the two of you together. Like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, that fit together perfectly." Chad scowled. "And don't tell anybody that I said this, except for Ryan. I don't want this getting around. But Kelsi said tonight that the two of you are cute together, and, well… I think she's right. But I didn't actually say the word cute, and I will totally deny I even said this much," Chad said, sternly. "So… don't go spreading around ideas that Chad Danforth thinks that the new East High Golden Couple is cute… because I never said that."

"Ok, Chad, I get the idea," Troy said, putting his hands up in surrender. "And… thanks for the compliment that you totally didn't say."

Sighing, Chad stood up. "I'd stick around, but I still have homework to get to; at least I've done my job, here. That oughtta stop the phone calls, at least."

"Are you… are you going to tell Ryan any of this?" Troy asked, worried.

"Not a word," Chad assured him. "That's the one thing I swore I wouldn't do, and that's break the confidences of either of you. I'll speak in generalities, if the need arises. Like tonight. But what we talked about tonight, stays with me. Until you tell him tomorrow," Chad added, meaningfully.

"Thanks, Chad," Troy said, standing up as well. "You're… honestly, you're the best friend, or brother, that anybody could ask for." Troy hesitated for a second, before hugging Chad, briefly. They quickly broke apart, standing in front of each other, awkwardly. Troy finally grinned. "It's still ingrained in me not to hug other guys, it's too unmanly."

"Same here," Chad said, chuckling. "So are you saying Ryan's a girl? Cuz that, I may have to spill to him."

"He's a boyfriend, so that doesn't count," Troy tried to defend himself. Then he shrugged. "It's just one of those things, I guess. Even before we were together, Ryan and I used to hug. It never felt awkward, really. Hindsight, I guess?"

"Nah, Ryan is just the hugging type," Chad waved Troy off, dismissively. "I'd hug him too if I wasn't sure he'd grab my ass and then dump you and hook up with me. I mean, triple threat athlete like me, how could he resist? But I'm not gay so it wouldn't work out between us, and then it would be all awkward."

"How did I get stuck with a conceited asshole like you as a friend?" Troy said, shaking his head. "And Ryan's got much better taste than you."

"Thought you said I was the best friend or brother that a guy could ask for," was Chad's response. Then he grinned. "See you tomorrow morning, Bolton. You'd better be ready, or I'm leaving your ass in the dust!"

"Don't worry about me," Troy reassured him. He walked Chad down the stairs and out the front door, trading goodbyes one last time. Troy closed the door, and walked into the kitchen, where his mother and father were.

"I don't suppose there's any dinner left?" Troy asked, hopefully.

Mrs. Bolton smiled, and pulled a plate out from the microwave oven. "I've kept it warm for you," she said, handing it to Troy.

"Thanks, Mom," Troy said, smiling gratefully.

"You seem happier, Troy," Coach Bolton observed, looking up from some paperwork he was doing.

"Chad's a great friend," Troy replied simply, digging into his plate.

"Troy, hon," Mrs. Bolton said. "I know… I know that the two of us really don't have any experience with this… with this sort of thing. But your dad and I want you to know that if you ever have anything you want to talk about, we'd like to try."

"I'll keep that in mind," Troy promised.

qpqp

"Have you figured out what you're going to do?" Kelsi asked Troy as their seventh period class let out for the day.

"I think so," Troy said, trying to put a brave smile on his face. "Chad made a lot of sense last night; hopefully I can make half as much sense when I talk to Ryan tonight."

"Bolton! We need to talk!" called out a terse voice that Troy actually didn't recognize at first, it was so choked with emotion. Troy was actually afraid it was Sharpay, but he didn't get slapped on the back of the head, leading him to believe it was someone else. And indeed it was, as Troy was greeted by the anguished face of none other than Gabriella Montez.

"I'll see you tonight," Kelsi said to Troy, scurrying away quickly.

"What the hell do you want, Gabriella?" Troy asked bluntly, not wanting to talk to his ex-girlfriend any more than he had to. "Chad's waiting for me."

"It's about all those rumours you've been spreading about Jason and I," she said, getting straight to the point. "Most of those are bullshit and you know it."

"Most of them are," Troy acknowledged. He stepped off towards the side of the hallway, so that they were out of the way of all the students that were more than eager to get out of there. "But you and I both know that one or two of them are right on the money. And do you really think I care that everybody in school knows that you're a cheating, lying bitch? The truth hurts, doesn't it?"

Gabi's eyes flashed angrily. "I don't see how you can feel justified in doing this to us. You're far from innocent in all this; you accuse me of cheating on you with Jason, when you were with Ryan all that time!"

"I never did anything with Ryan when the two of us were together," Troy countered. "We were just friends during all that, and for about a month after we broke up, for that matter. Ryan and I have only really been dating for the last two weeks. So don't you try to accuse me of cheating."

"Well, that may be true," Gabi grudgingly admitted, "but you cared a lot more about him than you did about me ever since that musical. Do you know how often you avoided spending time with me by saying you were hanging out with that fag?"

"Don't ever call him that, again," Troy warned. "In fact, I never want to hear that word come out of your mouth, again. Especially if you want something from me. Unless you're just here to try to insult me and Ryan for some reason."

"No, I've got a reason," Gabi said, nodding. "I'm wondering if you would consider renouncing all those rumours."

"And I'm wondering how you could possibly think that I'd do that," Troy said, disbelievingly. "You come to me, accuse me of cheating on you, and insult my boyfriend for good measure, then you ask me to stop the rumours?"

"Come on, Troy, for old times' sake," Gabi said, pleadingly. "We've got so much history together; we were together for over a year. That's pretty good for a high school romance. And you said you loved me. Come on, Troy. Do it for me."

"What… the hell… Are you fuckin' serious?" Troy said, his eyes practically popping out of their sockets. "How can you fuckin' think to even try that? We're over, Gabi. Done. Finished. You made that clear when _you_ broke up with _me_. And for a fuckin' shitty reason, for that matter. You deserve every bit of grief I can give you, and more besides."

"Please, Troy!" Gabriella begged. "You don't realize how bad you're making it for me and Jason! He's acting like he's ashamed to be around me," Gabriella confessed, a tear running down her cheek. "After you tore into him yesterday, he's been all about denying everything you said. But it's not working that well, and now almost everybody in East High knows… about my baby." She looked down at the ground. "But he's still hellbent on denying it, anyway. I think he's actually encouraging one of those fake rumours, the one that made it sound like I was a slut."

"Wow," Troy said, neutrally. "You dumped me for a guy like that? I should probably be insulted, instead of thrilled beyond belief."

"You want me to agree with you? Fine, I made a mistake when I let you go," Gabriella said, disgruntled. "Just let up on us, Troy, and I won't hassle you again about your boyfriend. This is more than just my life now, Troy," she said, quietly. "I've got enough pressure on me right now, without making things unbearable here at school. I need to graduate, and concentrate on finding a way to provide for my baby… and telling my mother about my… mistake."

Troy sighed. "I already know what Ryan would want me to do about this… he really didn't want anybody at school to find out about you, at least on his account. And I tried to respect that, too, till Cross pissed me the fuck off yesterday."

"You really care about Ryan, don't you?" Gabriella asked, surprised. "I thought you were just trying to prove a point, or whatever. But you really love him, don't you?"

Troy shrugged, uneasily. "I care about him, a lot. As far as you and I are concerned, we're gonna leave it at that. But I'll make you a deal. You and Jason leave us alone, and I promise I'll try to call off Sharpay. But I mean it. I don't want to hear that Jason's going behind my back and trying to sabotage anything else. In fact, I don't want to see or hear about Jason at all. Got it? That's all I can do. And I'm not going to take back anything I've already said, either. You don't deserve that, or, for that matter, what I'm going to do for you, either."

"Fine," Gabriella agreed. "I'll tell Jason." With that, Troy started walking away, hoping that Chad was still waiting for him. "And Troy? Thanks."

"Whatever," Troy said, not even bothering to turn back around. His first impulse had been to say no, that Gabi and Jason deserved every bit of misery that he could give them. And perhaps they did. The two of them had been the driving force behind Ryan's outting, had tried to break the two of them apart by poisoning Coach Bolton against them with twisted facts. So for Gabriella to ask for a truce… almost every part of Troy's being urged him to keep up the campaign to make Gabi's and Jason's lives a living hell. But something had held him back, had persuaded him to relent. Troy was still trying to figure out why as he got the books he was going to need over the weekend, and was still deep in thought as he reached the student parking lot.

"What the fuck, Bolton, what took you so long?" Chad said as soon as Troy opened the passenger door, scowling as he tapped the steering wheel impatiently.

"Sorry, Chad," Troy said, contritely. "I just had a weird conversation with Gabriella." He tossed his backpack in the back and got into the car. Chad quickly hit the gas and took off towards the main road.

"I can't believe you're even willing to talk to that bitch," Chad said with feeling. "She's fuckin' screwed you over from day one; she doesn't deserve the time of day from ya."

"Actually, she asked me to stop the rumours and leave her and Jason alone," Troy replied absently, still turning the confrontation over in his mind.

"And you said no, of course," Chad said confidently. Then he looked over at Troy. "You did say no, right Troy? Troy?"

"I said I would," Troy confessed.

"What the hell, Bolton! Why'd you do something stupid like that?" Chad sounded genuinely shocked.

"I don't know, Chad," Troy confessed. "She was explaining about how her life was going to be rough enough as it was, without me and Sharpay making it worse. And I was just thinking about how we'd be so much happier if she and Jason just dropped off the face of the planet or something."

"And Ryan didn't want all of this to come out?" Chad easily guessed.

"That did play a factor," Troy confessed. "I think it was just… I was remembering what Ryan told me last week, right after he told me about the pregnancy. He said that he understood how Gabi felt, having a huge secret and not wanting everybody to know and judge you for it. Since her pregnancy came out, Gabi's alienated what few friends she's got left, and Jason's not even giving her the time of day. She thinks that he's actually trying to spread that rumour about her being a slut so that nobody thinks it's his."

"How is this your problem?" Chad asked impatiently.

"Because now I understand exactly what Ryan meant," Troy said, shrugging. "Because I felt the same thing on Monday. That horrible feeling you get when you know that everybody is watching you and judging you. It's what Ryan felt when we outted him. And it's how Gabi felt when I shot my mouth off and told everybody in my class that Jason had gotten her pregnant. And I know that Gabriella isn't a part of my life any more… but she was once, you know. We were together for more than a year, Chad. And I told her I loved her. I don't know if I ever really did, but I told her that. And she told me she loved me." Troy sighed. "I've tried hard not to even think about her anymore, except in the most negative terms as possible… But maybe part of me still cares a little. Enough to give her the space to deal with this crisis without my interference, at least."

There was a silence in the car, as Chad digested Troy's words. "You are such a goody two-shoes sometimes, Bolton, and it drives me crazy," Chad finally said. "But I can't really argue with your point. If it was just Cross I don't think either of us would have let up for a second, but I guess adding Gabi into the mix changes things. But it better not change too much," Chad added, his voice suddenly stern. "You're supposed to be gay now, and dating Ryan Evans. So stick to that program, and win that boy's heart over. No more distractions."

"Sir, yes, sir!" Troy said, mock-saluting Chad.

"Now, the party's supposed to start around seven, so I'll pick you up at your place around six-thirty. You think you can get your pansy-ass ready by then?"

"If I hurry," Troy said, mock-seriously. "I don't know, though; I'm still a newbie when it comes to applying makeup, so I might take a little longer."

Chad looked over at Troy, horror in his eyes. "You don't… you haven't… No, Troy! You better be fuckin' kiddin' me!!"

"Chad," Troy said, shaking his head. "I wouldn't dream of using makeup. I can't even stand the stage makeup I had to wear for the school productions. I haven't changed that much, Chad," Troy reminded him.

"Hey, don't blame me for getting a little worried," Chad said, defensively. "I don't know how you gays do it; for all I know, once you come out you get a gift basket that has everything you need to go gay. You know, like makeup tips, instructions on how to walk, and how to make your wrist all limp and shit."

"And a box of condoms and lube?" Troy added, smirking.

Chad flushed. "No," he muttered. "Those aren't in the gift basket."

"The fact that you spent any length of time figuring out what would go in this gift basket amazes me," Troy commented. "You know, if you ever decided to come out of the closet, I'm sure Ryan would be glad to make you a really nice gift basket full of stuff."

"Hey, what did I tell you about the me not being gay part?" Chad growled. "I'll say it again, then; I'm not gay!"

"You were the one that said last night that you wanted Ryan to hug you and grope your ass," Troy said teasingly.

"No, I said that he would, if he…," Chad let out a cry of frustration. "Never mind. I need a new best friend… one that won't keep calling me gay. Maybe Zeke wants the job."

"You want your new best friend to be the guy that can't get enough of Sharpay?" Troy said, raising an eyebrow. "That's all you'd hear from him, not counting all those wonderful times when you'd get to spend time with her. Remember, Chad- _I'm _the one dating the Evans twin that you actually like."

"True," Chad said, thoughtfully. "Fine, Troy. You're still my best friend. But I'm warning you…" Chad took one hand off the wheel to shake his finger at Troy threateningly.

"Well, I don't know if _I _want a best friend who's as fickle as you seem to be," Troy replied, smiling. "Six thirty should be fine, though; I'm not gonna spend that much time primping. And I actually picked out what I'm gonna wear last night. That way I'm not waiting for the last minute."

"Troy, do you know how I pick out what I'm gonna wear?" Chad asked, shaking his head. "I stick my hand in my dresser and pull out a random shirt. If it's actually clean that's just a bonus."

"Never, ever tell Ryan that," Troy warned. "He won't want anything to do with you. His clothes closet is about the size of my room… or maybe a little bit bigger. To hear that you don't actually spend a half an hour contemplating your wardrobe might possibly stop his heart. I don't want to lose him to that, especially when I haven't made it up to him yet."

"But you're going to, right?" Chad pressed him. "I'm fuckin' sick and tired of whiny, depressed Troy; I'll take happy Troy any day, even when I know that he's probably getting his happy from stuff that I don't want to hear about."

Troy shook his head. "I'm gonna do everything possible," he said, sincerely. "That's the best I can do; in the end, it's up to Ryan."

"Then I think it'll turn out fine," Chad said, smiling. "Cuz that dude loves you more than… well, more than I feel comfortable talking about." And with almost perfect timing, they pulled up in front of Troy's house. "I'll see you later, dude."

"Thanks for the ride, Chad," Troy said as he grabbed his bag from the back and got out of the car. "See ya."

qpqp

"Here's your keys, son," said Coach Bolton as he held them out towards Troy.

"Thanks, Dad," Troy said politely, trying really hard not to yank them out of his father's hands, jump in his truck, and speed off towards Zeke's party. Just a few minutes before Chad had arrived at Troy's house to pick him up, Coach Bolton had received a phone call informing him that Troy's truck had been repaired and that he could come pick it up. Jack Bolton, wanting to get things taken care of as soon as possible, had told Troy that they were going to retrieve it that night. Troy had tried dialling Chad, but his friend had pulled up in the driveway as he was hitting the send button. Troy had quickly explained the situation, and had told Chad that he would be at Zeke's as soon as humanly possible.

Since then, Troy had done nothing but wait impatiently as his father made conversation with his friend Hank, who had apparently fixed Troy's radiator at cost. That alone prevented Troy from politely extricating himself from the situation and rushing over to Zeke's. Apparently Troy's absence was being felt, too, according to Chad's terse text message.

Finally, Troy couldn't take it any more. "May I be excused, Dad?" Troy said, in the politest tone he could manage. "Everybody is waiting for me. Including Ryan," he added in a pointed tone. Coach Bolton swallowed involuntarily and glanced uneasily at Hank, who didn't seem to notice. "Thank you so much for fixing my truck," Troy added, directing his attention towards the mechanic. "I really appreciate it."

"Eh, it's no problem," Hank waved off his thanks with a smile. "You go meet up with your friends. I'm sure you don't want to listen to us older folks talk."

"Be safe, Troy," Coach Bolton said, in that tone that seemed to come automatically to parents.

"Don't worry about me, Dad," Troy assured him. "I won't do anything stupid. But don't wait up for me."

With that, Troy turned and walked towards his truck, going as fast as he could without looking like he was in a terrible hurry. Gunning his engine, Troy roared out the parking lot while pulling out his cell phone. It was soon ringing as he attempted to reach Chad.

"You better be fuckin' on your way," was Chad's less than hospitable greeting. Troy could hear loud music in the background- and raised voices as well. Not the sort of loud voices that was normal at parties like this.

"Why? What's going on?" Troy asked, suddenly worried.

"I can't really talk right now," Chad said, "but seriously, get your ass here, pronto." Without further ado, the call was disconnected.

"Wow; he really wasn't kidding when he said he was going to cut back on his cell phone usage for the rest of the month," Troy mused to himself. "Also, if he wants us to stop the gay jokes, he should stop acting so melodramatically all the damn time."

Troy finally pulled up near Zeke's house; Troy parked in the grass, not too far away from Chad's car. Luckily, Zeke's house was located at the end of a street, and had a big yard. Hopefully that would mean no phone calls from the neighbors complaining about the noise. And indeed Troy could tell that the party was going on, full-blast; there were quite a few people on the front porch, taking a smoke break, while loud music was clearly audible through the open windows.

Troy reached the door, greeting everybody who noticed him and said hi. Troy was pleased to see that nobody seemed to have any problems with him, so far; apparently Zeke's ultimatum had gotten around. The door had barely shut behind him before a rapidly moving pink blur had approached him and slapped him on the cheek.

"You are so dead, Troy Bolton!" Sharpay screeched as she cocked her hand back for another swing. Zeke, luckily, came to the rescue and got in between the two.

"Hey, Troy, glad to see you made it!" Zeke said, cheerfully. "Beer?"

"Maybe later," Troy said, his eyes already searching. "Where's Ryan?"

"My brother has locked himself in Zeke's room, and won't let hardly anybody in there," Sharpay said, her eyes as hard as agates. "I warned you, Bolton. You remember, don't you? I told you not to hurt him again, and look what you did!! This has to be your fault, somehow!" Sharpay stamped her foot in frustration. "And make them give me back my cell phone!"

"Umm, we had to take it from her," Zeke said, guiltily. Probably feeling bad for taking a side that wasn't Sharpay's. "Chad got a little worried when she got on her phone and started asking somebody for the best hitman they had." Zeke shrugged, sheepishly. "I wasn't sure if she meant it or not, but we didn't want to take any chances."

"I totally meant it," Sharpay declared. "I warned Bolton that I would end him if he didn't treat my brother right, and look what he's done!!"

"But you don't know that he's done anything," Zeke said, reasonably. "You just said that you think it's Troy's fault, somehow."

"I should've known you'd take his side over mine," Sharpay snapped.

"I'm not taking either side," Zeke protested. "I'm just saying, we don't know that all of this is because of Troy. And if it is, why don't we see if Troy can't fix it, then? And if he does hurt Ryan, I'll hurt Troy, myself," Zeke said, sternly. Then his tone softened. "Sharpay, you're not the only one who cares about Ryan; your brother is a great guy. And as one of his friends, I'd back him up any day."

"Zeke…" Sharpay said, looking a little surprised.

"But Troy and Ryan are boyfriends," Zeke said, a little stronger. "And they should be able to have a relationship together without you butting in all the time. Just like if you were with a guy who really cared about you… would you really want Ryan sticking his nose in your affairs, and belittling your boyfriend at every step of the way?" Zeke shrugged. "And new couples? They make mistakes. Especially when one of them has never dated a guy before. So give Troy some breathing space, and let him see what he can do about helping Ryan."

Troy looked at Zeke in amazement. This was the first time in, like, ever, that he had actually stood up to Sharpay and didn't cater to her every whim. Sharpay was no less surprised, several different expressions crossing her face.

"Let me show you one of the things I baked for the party," Zeke said with a smile on his face, taking advantage of Sharpay's consternation. He held his arm out in a gentlemanly way. Sharpay, apparently still not sure how to react, took his arm, and Zeke led her away towards the kitchen.

"Dude, that was, like, awesome," Chad said, from behind Troy. "Yeah, I'm definitely swapping you out with Zeke."

"Screw that, he's mine," Troy said, turning around to face his friend. "At least he got Sharpay off my back." Then Troy got a serious look on his face. "Where's Ryan? What's going on?"

Chad sighed. He was wearing a green shirt that read, simply, _This is my Party Shirt_. "Well, apparently Ryan's been avoiding his sister all day; he never told her that he wasn't going to school today, so she didn't find out until he didn't show up for one of their classes. I guess she figured he was with you during free period or something. Then he didn't answer his cell phone when she called, then by the time she got home he had come over here to help Zeke set up the party."

"An Evans doing actual work?" Troy asked, surprised. "Ryan _must've _been trying to avoid his sister."

"Well, apparently Ryan's only contributions were to try out Zeke's baked goods and suggest where things should go; he didn't actually move anything around," Chad wryly replied. "Does that sound more like it?"

"Yeah," Troy agreed. He looked around at the party, and at all the other people, oblivious to what was going on. "So let's get to the part where Ryan's in Zeke's room and won't let anybody in."

"Almost everybody," Chad corrected. "He let me and Zeke in there, and Kelsi's in there right now. That's where I was when you arrived, actually. Damned drama king's not letting me enjoy the party," Chad added, grumbling. "But now that you're here… I can get even more wasted than I already am!"

"You look pretty buzzed already," Troy said, appraisingly.

"I had to take a few shots of orange vodka," Chad admitted. "That's the price for Ryan letting you in the room with him."

"Ryan's drinking vodka?" Troy exclaimed, concerned. "He hardly drinks the hard stuff; he's a total lightweight."

"Yeah, I tried to stop him, but he told me that if I took his bottle away from him he'd cut my hair off the next time I fell asleep around him." Chad shrugged. "I figured I was safer if I didn't test him on that."

"Ok, nuff said," Troy said, making his way towards Zeke's room. "It's time to talk to Ryan, and try to fix things. Try to keep Sharpay away, though."

"That'll be a job for Zeke," Chad replied. "Ryan wouldn't let her in Zeke's room, anyway; he said she was a bloody nuisance who wouldn't let him live his own life in peace. I think that was after a few shots."

"Wish me luck," Troy said, as they approached Zeke's room. Kelsi was coming out of there just then.

"Good, you're here," Kelsi said softly, relief in her voice. "He's starting to reach the maudlin stage of being drunk; not that I ever imagined Ryan being an angry drunk. Just really melodramatic. And this is _Ryan _we're talking about."

Troy winced. "Well, I'm going on." He was about to knock on the door, when Chad stopped him.

"Ryan said, after quite a few shots, that he didn't feel like he was up to talking to you," Chad explained. "Hold on a second." Chad knocked on the door. "Ryan, it's Chad. Could you open the door again?"

"You ready for another shot?" called out Ryan's unmistakable and somewhat slurred voice. Troy heard the door lock click open, but the door remained shut.

"That's your cue," Chad said, gesturing. "Go get 'em, Tiger."

"Thanks, Mary Jane," Troy said, smirking. With that, Troy opened the door and stepped into Zeke's bedroom, closing and locking the door behind him.. Ryan was standing with his back to the door, pouring vodka from a half empty bottle of Smirnoff into two shot glasses. Troy took the opportunity to check out Ryan's lithe form; Ryan really made those black skinny jeans work. And Ryan's button-up shirt, lavender this time, matched the fedora he was wearing. Most guys still really didn't do it for Troy, but despite himself Troy really couldn't keep his heart from missing a beat whenever he ogled Ryan's body.

"You ready, Chad?" Ryan asked, as he turned around. He stopped abruptly as he realized that it wasn't Chad.

"Hey, Ryan," Troy said, suddenly tongue-tied as he faced his boyfriend- or possibly ex-boyfriend. "You look good tonight."

"I told Chad that I didn't want to deal with this tonight," Ryan said, his voice hard but impaired slightly by the alcohol.

"What's there to deal with?" Troy said, seizing a chance to put off _the _conversation. "We're still friends, right? Can't we have a shot or two? After all, I haven't had anything to drink, yet."

Ryan eyed him for a moment, then shrugged. "Not much point in telling you to leave me alone," he muttered. "I've never been able to get you to do something you didn't want to do. No matter how hard I tried." He handed one of the shot glasses to Troy, then took the other for himself.

Troy held his glass up. "To everybody special in our lives," he toasted. Ryan gave him another look that made it clear that Troy wasn't fooling him, but he clinked his glass together with Troy's, and the two downed their shots of orange vodka.

"So, I heard that you had a talk with Gabriella today," Ryan said, in a nearly expressionless voice. But Troy suspected that it was the alcohol that allowed him to detect just the slightest bit of jealousy in his voice.

Troy shrugged, though. "It was no big deal," he said, nonchalantly. "She offered me a deal: I stop spreading the rumours, and she and Jason don't bother us anymore."

"And you didn't take it," Ryan said, shaking his head.

"I did," Troy corrected him. "It seemed the best solution to our problems, they don't bug us anymore, and…" Troy looked right into Ryan's eyes. "I know you didn't approve of using the pregnancy against her. So I'm gonna back off of that."

"You… really did that?" Ryan asked, stunned.

"I really did," confirmed Troy. "I thought about it on the way home, and I guess I finally understood where you were coming from when you kept it from me initially. She spread our business all around the school, and outted you… if anybody deserved to have the same thing done to them, it was her and Jason. But if we allowed ourselves to sink to their level… then we're no better than them. So my rumour-passing days are done. At least the ones that are actually true and damaging," Troy amended. "Your corrupting influence has definitely showed me that a little bit of false rumour-spreading can be useful. As long as it's in moderation."

"Troy…" Ryan said, no doubt surprised at his sudden burst of eloquence. And his admission that rumour-spreading could be useful.

"Wait, there's more," Troy said, bracing himself. It was now or never. "I owe you an apology. A major one." Ryan raised an eyebrow, but gestured for him to continue. "For starters, I am so sorry for messing up our plans for karaoke last night. You invited me to spend time with you, and your sister was even trying to mend bridges, somewhat. And I totally screwed that up, and I'm sorry."

Troy took a breath, before continuing. "But that's not all I've got. There's something that I should've told you last night, or Sunday night, or quite a few other times in the past two weeks. But I've been afraid to say it…"

"Ok, stop right now, Bolton," Ryan said, holding his hand up. "I told you yesterday; I don't even want to hear it." Troy could actually see tears in his eyes. "I know you don't love me; your words have made that quite clear to me. So I'm gonna skip all the wishful thinking and false hope, and say au revoir. And tell Danforth that if he values his curls, he won't let you back in here to bother me." Ryan pointed at the door. "Go away, Bolton."

"No," Troy said, simply. "I won't go away. I don't care if you punch me or kick me, or insult me in any way. I'm not leaving until I'm finished." Ryan was much like his sister in many ways- when they got an idea in their head, they were almost impossible to stop. Ryan had convinced himself that Troy would never love him, so anything Troy said to the contrary would be ignored. Unless, as Zeke had demonstrated, one used a forceful tone that brooked no interruptions.

"Please, Troy," Ryan said, his voice no longer harsh, but instead soft and pleading. "I can't take any more hurt."

"Ryan, that's the last thing I'd ever want to do," Troy said, meaningfully. "It's a cheesy sentiment, but it's true."

"Fine, get on with it," Ryan grumbled. He sat down on the bed and looked up at Troy, expectantly.

Troy sighed. "I had all of this planned out, but it all sounds so stupid now." He looked up at the ceiling, trying to get everything sorted out in his head. "I guess I'm making this too complicated," Troy confessed. "I'm not that good at dealing with complicated, and you, Ryan, are the very personification of it."

"Thank you?" Ryan said, not sure if it was a compliment or not.

"I'm just not very good with words," Troy confessed. "You've always been good with them, but not me. But what I mean to say is… Ryan Evans," Troy spoke again, his voice a little shaky, but clear. "I love you."

Ryan's mouth seemed to be making an excellent impression of a guppy, not expecting to actually hear that come out of Troy's mouth.

"Ryan," Troy said, his voice a little steadier as he continued. "I am so sorry for not being able to say that before." He sat down on the bed next to Ryan, looking into his eyes, hoping to see a sign of happiness, of forgiveness, anything. "It's just… I've never felt this way about any other person in my life. I was scared… You made me feel so alive… and I didn't want to lose that… didn't want to lose you." Troy shrugged uneasily. "The last time I told somebody I loved them, in that way, it was Gabriella. And I might have meant it, but I really don't think so. I think I just used the word because Gabi expected me to say it to her. And then she broke up with me… and really hurt me… and part of me wondered if the whole problem was simply that I told her that I loved her when I didn't. So that's why I was afraid to say anything… I didn't want us to end up like Gabi and I did."

"I can't get pregnant, Troy," Ryan said, a small smile on his face.

"Well, that's something," Troy acknowledged, smiling back. Then he got serious. "But I want you to know… I really mean it when I tell you I love you. And I'm not just saying that to win you back," Troy added. "Honestly… I couldn't really blame you if you didn't want to give me another chance. I don't even know if _I _would give me another chance. But even if you don't," and Troy's voice started cracking as he uttered those words. "I still feel that way about you."

Ryan stared at him for a moment, as if he didn't believe what he was hearing. Then, after a moment's deliberation, he leaned forward and kissed Troy on the cheek. "Are you crazy?" Ryan asked, in disbelief. Troy's heart sank at the blonde's words. "The boy I love actually tells me that he loves me back, and you expect me to just say 'nope, sorry, not interested anymore?' I'm the one who's supposed to be drunk, here!" With that, Ryan pushed Troy onto his back, on the bed. "Fuck, Troy, I never thought I'd hear those words from you," Ryan said, beginning to settle into his familiar position laying on Troy's chest. Troy scooted back a little on the bed so that they'd be more comfortable. "You have no idea how happy that makes me."

"That's it?" Troy asked, a little amazed. "I thought I was gonna have to do, like, major groveling to convince you to give me another chance."

"Well, that would put you on your knees in front of me," Ryan said, as if thinking about it. "So maybe we'll leave that for later." The two were silent for a moment. "Chad asked me something last night," Ryan finally said, quietly. "He asked me if I would take you back if you told me that you loved me and I thought you truly meant it. I immediately said yes," Ryan confessed, "without hesitation." He started to gently move his hand around, caressing Troy's torso. "I really didn't want to take a break," he confessed. "Maybe I was just hoping that it would jar something, and then we could be happy together. But I was also afraid that you really didn't feel the same way that I did."

"I'm so sorry for that," Troy said, apologetically.

"It was the ice-skating date that did it," Ryan explained. "That night… I felt so connected to you, like we were a single entity called Ryan and Troy. I knew I loved you, and I really felt like you felt the same way."

"I did," Troy replied, quietly. "I was just so scared to use the l-word. I didn't even want to think about that."

"Then you reacted so badly when I used the word, and then there was the restaurant thing," frowned Ryan. "You acted like it was a dirty word, and that it was the furthest thing from your mind. Then you told me you didn't want me with you when you came out to your parents. Then on Sunday night, for a second I thought you were going to say it, then you just acted like you weren't interested in a real relationship between us," Ryan pointed out. "After all that, you can hardly blame me for thinking you didn't like me."

"I know, and all I can say is that I'm really sorry," Troy said contritely. "I know I sent you nothing but mixed signals all this time, and I really didn't mean to. I just didn't want to say the words before I knew in my heart that I meant them. And I do, with all my heart."

"And I owe you an apology as well," Ryan said, looking up towards Troy's face. "I put way too much pressure on you to say the word. Then instead of being understanding and communicating my problem with you, I just shut you out. You need to help me work on that, Troy. For the longest time, I thought that showing your emotions equalled weakness. But I'm starting to understand that it's ok to let your guard down around the people that really matter to you, because they won't think any less of you."

"We'll both work on the talking thing," Troy said, smiling. "But later. I'm tired of talking, when we could be doing something so much more fun."

"Oh!" Ryan said, realizing what Troy meant. He raised his head up and the two began kissing, Troy's hand cradling the back of Ryan's head.

"I've missed this," Ryan panted, when they momentarily came up for breath.

"So have I," Troy said, no less affected. "You taste like orange vodka; I feel like I could get drunk just by kissing you."

"In that case, we better get you drunk, then," Ryan said devilishly, as he jumped on top of Troy, straddling his waist.

"So we're ok, then?" Troy asked, already knowing the answer but needing to hear it, anyway.

"We're more than ok," Ryan assured him. Then Ryan rocked forward, bringing their groins into contact. "Does this convince you?" he asked, in a sultry voice.

Troy groaned. "Maybe, but I think I need more convincing," he managed to say. Then he pulled Ryan down for a fierce kiss, wanting to feel the smaller boy's lips on his own again. Ryan didn't protest, but instead returned the kiss eagerly. Troy's hands brushed off Ryan's fedora as he began stroking up and down Ryan's back. Ryan just groaned, as he grinded into Troy's body.

Ryan finally broke the kiss, raising up to look at his boyfriend with desire. Then he smirked. "Your marks are almost gone," he remarked. "We can't have that, now can we?" With that, Ryan, leaned forward and latched onto Troy's neck with enthusiasm. Troy moaned, as his hands found themselves cupping Ryan's tight ass.

Bam! Bam! Bam! "Oi!" shouted Chad's voice from the hallway. "Zeke said that if you two have sex on his bed, he's never speaking to you again!"

"Tell Zeke to stop being jealous," Ryan yelled out. "At least somebody's getting some."

"I'm not warning you again, Evans!" Chad yelled back. Then a short pause. "And Zeke said that not enough people are dancing, and he needs somebody to get 'em going."

"Chad knows me all too well," Ryan said with a groan, collapsing against Troy's chest. "He knows I can't resist the call of the dance floor."

"Is that like the call of the wild?" Troy asked, chuckling. "Except with techno and sequins?"

"Close enough," Ryan said, giving Troy a quick peck on the cheek. "We'll pick this up later; right now, we're missing a party. And you are waaay behind on your drinking." Then, in a louder voice, "We'll be right out, Chad! Troy just needs to put his pants back on!"

"Aaagh!" was all the two boys heard, before hearing heavy footsteps quickly retreating from the door.

"There we go," Ryan said, satisfied.

"He did help us both out," Troy reminded him, smirking. "We actually owe him."

"And we'll make sure he enjoys our luncheon tomorrow," Ryan replied, shrugging. "Doesn't mean we shouldn't give him a hard time until then. He'd probably suspect something, otherwise." Ryan finally got off of Troy, and grabbed the orange vodka bottle. Troy stood up as well, straightening up his shirt.

"Why have you been drinking all that?" Troy asked, curious. "I thought you barely drank."

"Maybe I was hoping that some dashing brunette basketball player would come and sweep me off my feet," quipped Ryan. Then he sighed. "I just really didn't want to deal with all the shit that was going on… As if our problems weren't enough, Sharpay is just… I can't stand how she can never leave well enough alone… If she had her way, she would decide the way my entire life went. I mean, I know she means well, and she genuinely cares, but she always thinks she knows best. And she really doesn't."

"Well, she may back off a little more," Troy said, smiling. "Zeke actually took charge of her, and told her to butt out of our relationship so much, and to give me a real chance."

Ryan beamed. "Sounds like he actually listened to me," he said. "Zeke was asking me a lot of questions today about what Sharpay liked, what he should say to her that would convince her that he cared."

"But what did you say to him?" Troy pressed on. "All those questions sound like the same ole Zeke. And same ole Zeke wouldn't have said what I clearly heard him say." Troy got a worried look on his face. "Unless that wasn't the real Zeke, but was his evil double?"

"Evil double?" Ryan said, raising an eyebrow.

"Everybody's got one," Troy said, shrugging. "Doppelgängers, I think they're called. Maybe he switched places with Zeke today, before I got here." Troy grabbed Ryan's arm, urgently. "Maybe there's a nefarious plan in the works to do away with all of us and replace us with our evil twins."

"Oh, Troy, you have been watching way too many cheesy action/adventure movies," Ryan sighed, affectionately. "There is no nefarious plan, and that's still our friend Zeke out there. If nothing else, I've been around him since school let out today, so there couldn't have been a switch. I just told him that as long as he waited on Sharpay hand and foot, she wouldn't ever treat him with any better than any of the servants we've ever had. He must've taken my advice to heart."

"Guess we caught a break, this time," Troy said, wiping his head in relief. "No evil twins at the moment. Well, besides your sister, of course."

"I'm telling her you said that," Ryan said, but there was a big smile on his face.

Troy finally unlocked the door and the couple entered the hallway, keen on rejoining the party. Troy had his arm around Ryan's shoulders, while Ryan had looped his own arm around Troy's waist as his head rested on Troy's shoulder. Unfortunately, the first person they encountered that they knew well wasn't Chad or Zeke, but instead was the 'evil twin' herself.

"Ryan! Why didn't you let me in? You're my brother, and I am seriously hurt that you wouldn't let me in there!" Sharpay sounded less than hurt, though, looking more angry than anything else. "I should take first priority over this… this… jock!" She stomped her foot. "And make them give me back my cell phone!"

A guilty smile formed on Ryan's face as he removed his arm from Troy's waist and reached into his pocket. He produced a pink cell phone, which he handed to his sister. "Chad gave it to me," he explained, as he put his arm back around Troy. "Apparently you were calling a hitman out on Troy?"

"And I would have, too…" Sharpay said, giving Troy an evil look.

"If it wasn't for those meddling kids!" Troy and Ryan said in unison. Then they looked each other, and laughed.

"We're not through with this, Ryan," Sharpay threatened. "Tomorrow night, we're gonna have a long discussion."

"Then tonight, we can pretend that none of this happened," Troy said, smoothly. "So we can party as a loving couple, and you can enjoy the fact that you are one of the main reasons why Zeke threw this party."

"Well, of course I am," Sharpay said, smirking, but Troy could tell that this had actually come as a surprise to her; dating an Evans meant vastly improving his body language-reading skills.

"He wanted to show you that he cares about you, and he can be a lot more than just a gofer for you," Ryan expanded. "Where is he, anyway?"

"He's getting me a drink," Sharpay said, in a softer tone. Then her gaze sharpened. "But don't think you can just foist me off on Zeke; I'll be watching you, Bolton." With that, Sharpay turned, threw her head back in typical Evans fashion, and walked off.

"Well, at least that's one bullet dodged for now," Troy said, trying to look on the bright side.

"It's more like a bullet that's travelling a lot slower than usual," Ryan disagreed, "but it's gonna hit sooner or later. And I'm the unfortunate target."

Troy grinned. "In that case, let's drink. We might as well have at least one night of fun…"

And fun they had, indeed. Troy had quickly downed several congratulatory shots given to him by Chad and Zeke, while Ryan steadily drained his bottle of orange vodka. And eventually Troy found himself in the middle of a dancing crowd, moving to the beat with Ryan gyrating right in front of him. Troy wasn't a bad dancer, but it wasn't his favourite thing in the world. So sweating up a storm while dancing to the fifth or eighth song in a row with a boyfriend that couldn't keep his hands to himself was definitely a surprise. But a welcome one.

At one point, Troy managed to take a break from dancing, using a lack of alcohol as a good reason. Ryan had given him a long kiss on the lips, before allowing him to go. Troy had smiled, and had just turned to go when he felt somebody smack him on the ass. He spun around to find an innocent-looking Ryan pointing a finger at a wildly protesting and rather inebriated Chad. Troy had just shaken his head and headed towards the table where the alcohol was served. He mixed up a rather strong Captain and Coke, and slowly drank it as he watched the dancers. Or in particular, one certain dancer with blonde hair.

"It's not just a game for you, is it?" asked a female voice from beside Troy. He turned to find Sharpay, looking pretty drunk herself. Zeke wasn't too far away, talking to a couple of their fellow Wildcats. "You really do love him."

"Yeah, I really do," Troy said, barely slurring his words. "I never figured I'd be in love with another guy… but your brother's one of a kind."

"I'm glad to see everything worked out ok," Zeke said, joining the two. "And not just for you and Ryan." He put his arm around Sharpay's waist, and the blonde girl, instead of flinching and pulling away, just leaned into his embrace. "Shar's gonna give me a real shot this time."

"Hopefully she'll remember that decision on the morning," Troy said, only half joking. After all, apparently she had gravitated towards Zeke at that infamous party that Troy still didn't remember completely, only to forget all of that, the next day.

"I'll have you know, Bolton, that he asked me right after we finished talking to you when you got here," Sharpay said, indignantly. Then she smirked. "Looks like you've got some competition, though, Troy." She pointed off towards the dancers. Ryan and Chad were dancing together, though Chad seemed to be making sure that there was a more than respectable distance between them. The current song ended, and from what Troy could tell, Chad was trying to escape the dance floor before the next one started. With a smile on his face, Troy drained the rest of his cup and headed towards his best friend and his boyfriend. As Troy approached, he saw Ryan give Chad a quick hug, followed by an actual kiss on the cheek. Chad looked around to see if anybody had spotted that, but on the other hand he didn't wipe it off as if it was disgusting.

"Hey, babe!" Ryan said, his own voice more than a little slurred. "Chad's trying to quit dancing… but he needs to stay here for one more song… cuz he's our best buddy… and he's the reason why I've got you."

"Hey, you don't need to be drinking more," Chad pointed his finger at Ryan, and then at the boy's nearly empty bottle of orange vodka that was currently sitting on the living room mantle nearby. "You're drunk, and I'm cutting you off."

Ryan giggled wildly, as if that was the funniest thing ever. Then he walked the three or so steps to Troy, almost stumbling over the last step.

"I think you need to sit down for a while," Troy said, propping up his boyfriend while trying to stay fully upright himself.

Ryan peered up at his boyfriend with bleary eyes, before shrugging. "Ok." Then he looked around the room, as if trying to take everything in, or perhaps to make eye contact with everybody around them. "Hey, everybody! This is my boyfriend, Troy, and I love him!" Then he wrapped his arms around Troy's neck, hugging him. Several people looked over at the pair, drawn by Ryan's declaration, but Troy, rather than freak out and plot damage control like he would have just a week ago, just looked happy and proud. And rather amused at the drunken antics of his boyfriend, the lightweight. Though to be fair, Ryan had put a sizable dent in his orange vodka bottle.

"So, how much longer do you want to stay?" Troy asked Ryan, once they had found spots on Zeke's couch. Or, rather, Troy had found a spot on the couch, while Ryan had decided to sit on Troy's lap instead. Best of all, the others sitting on the couch had looked over at them briefly, shrugged, and had remained where they were.

"Dunno," Ryan said, shrugging. Then he laid his head down on Troy's shoulder, his mouth just inches from Troy's neck. The warm breaths soon began to drive Troy wild, causing him to shiver with each exhale.

"How were you planning to get home?" Troy asked, instead.

"Kelsi said she'd drive me home on my convritible, I mean my contervible… fuck, my car thingy." Ryan's voice was soft, as if he were already on the verge of nodding off.

"Then how is Kelsi supposed to get home?" asked Troy, grinning at his boyfriend's speech impediment.

"Taylor… tha's how she got here," Ryan explained, yawning.

"Then I guess we should see if Kelsi's ready to go yet," Troy said, looking around the room. "Cuz you don't look like you're in any state to drive."

"Do we have to leave now?" Ryan whined, nuzzling Troy's neck. "Can't we stay like this for a while? 'M pretty comfortable right now."

Troy sighed. "You really are spoiled, you know that?" But Troy made no attempt to get up, or to dislodge Ryan from his place on Troy's lap. Before long, he could hear regular breathing that let him know that Ryan had fallen asleep in his lap. Kelsi was nowhere to be found, and despite the loud music, Troy was nodding off, too. "I guess Kelsi'll have to drive me home too… or something," Troy muttered to Ryan, who didn't hear a word he was saying. And that was all that Troy remembered.

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And there we are! Troy finally got his head out of his arse, and told Ryan how he really felt!! Yay!! Look forward to Couple-y Troy and Ryan in the next chapter… well, couple-y hungover Troy and Ryan, to be precise..

And here's my request from you… I love all your reviews, including the ones that simply say "love it, please update!" but in honour of the frickin' huge chapter, if you could include something in particular that you loved about it, if it was a line, or a situation, or something… I would love that even more! Let me know what parts you liked more than others!! Thank you!!

Squall


	20. Morning Afters Aren't Always So Bad

A/N: Once again, sorry for the delay… but work doesn't look to be lightening up, any time soon. In fact, it's only been picking up. I am now the lead person for my position. And while in some cases that would be a good thing, that isn't true in my case. I now get to make the schedules, remake the schedules after somebody forgot to ask off, and work a bunch of hours because I'm so damned indispensable. But I'm still writing!

The other problem was one I'd not really encountered before on this story, and that was… writer's block. I simply could not find the right tone for this chapter. So I tried writing a new idea for a little while, to try to help my block. It worked, and a good half of the story, if not more, progressed from there. And this new idea is still being worked on; it'll be maybe five or six chapters, at most.

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

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Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 20 - Mornings After Aren't Always That Bad

It was a only a slight sound, a noise that Troy probably wouldn't even have heard had he been awake. But for some reason, that muffled sound was all it took for Troy to abruptly sit right up in bed, looking around in confusion. It was clearly morning- at least heavy curtains blocked the bulk of the sunlight streaming in. He'd fallen asleep on Zeke's couch last night… right? Then why was he in Zeke's bed? Where the hell was his shirt? Then a thought came to Troy that worried him even more: where was Ryan? That thought was enough to cause Troy to leap out of bed, frantically. Was last night just a dream? Had Ryan really forgiven him? Had he finally told Ryan he loved him?

Troy couldn't hear hardly any noise from the rest of the house, besides the sound of somebody snoring loudly. Actually, Troy thought to himself, it sounded a lot like Chad; whenever his best friend drank, he sawed logs in his sleep. But Troy did smell something good wafting from the other room- greasy goodness.

So, resolved to figure out who was awake, and whether things were okay with Ryan or not, Troy left Zeke's room, thankful that at least his pants were still on. If he was gonna have a pants-less night, he'd like to at least remember it.

The living room was pretty much cleared out, apart from the handful of people who were crashed on the floor. And as he suspected, Troy could see Chad's fluffy head resting on a couch cushion.

"Troy!" Troy turned to see a figure in sky blue attach himself to his waist before he felt Ryan's familiar lips on his own. Overcome with relief that last night hadn't been a dream, Troy wrapped his arms around Ryan. Soon- too soon, as far as Troy was concerned- the blonde broke their kiss, wrinkling his nose. "No more kissing till you brush your teeth," Ryan said, folding his arms. "You've got horrible morning breath; it tastes like whiskey."

"Well, excuse me," Troy said, acting like he was put out. "There was a party last night, and you did insist that I drink."

"Like that was a tough sell," Ryan scoffed. "You were on that alcohol like white on rice."

"But no more kissing?" Troy said, a little disappointed. "I mean, I didn't think to bring a toothbrush or anything like that."

"Well, see, that's why you're so damned lucky that you've got a boyfriend like me," Ryan said, smugly. "Zeke and I went out earlier, and I bought you a new toothbrush at the gas station. I also got breakfast for us, too, if you're interested."

"Ryan, I could kiss you right now," Troy said, grinning openly. "Morning breath or not. I can't believe you thought of all that." He did give Ryan a quick hug, keeping his arm around the blonde's shoulder after they broke apart. "And I definitely like the shirt; I never imagined that you would wear it." Ryan was wearing the shirt that Chad and Zeke had bought him, with a matching newsboy cap. Troy shook his head; only Ryan would bring a hat that matched each shirt he was wearing.

"I promised Zeke I would," Ryan said, shrugging. "Besides, I like the colour.

The two headed into the kitchen, where Zeke was, eating McDonalds. "You bought us McDonalds?" Troy asked, amazed.

"I bought it for _you_," Ryan said, grimacing. "I also stopped by a little shop I know, and bought myself a slice of quiche. You know me better than that; last weekend was murder for me."

"Mornin', Troy," Zeke said, cheerfully. Troy silently groaned. He was feeling outnumbered by these morning people. Troy was definitely _not _a morning person. "Get attacked by a vampire last night?"

Troy just groaned. "Ryan?" Troy definitely knew who to blame for this one.

"It was Chad's fault, too," Ryan protested. "I couldn't cause all of that by myself. I mean, you _do _remember what happened to your shirt, don't you? That boy's an animal. But last night _was _lots of fun." He caught sight of Troy's shocked and horrified look. "Wait… you don't remember our threesome, last night?"

"That is so cruel, Ryan," Zeke said, but his smile rather ruined his scolding. "Pick on the poor boy just because his alcoholic memory is horrible. The real reason why your shirt's gone is because Mr. Troy couldn't handle his liquor last night. You threw up all over yourself- and Ryan."

"That lavender shirt is never going to be the same," Ryan said, shaking his head ruefully.

Troy looked back and forth from Ryan to Zeke, trying so hard to figure out what was actually true. "So, we didn't have a threesome with Chad, right?" Troy figured that had been a lie, but he wasn't taking any chances.

"Troy, all joking aside, Chad's about as straight as they come," Ryan said, smiling at Troy's lingering worry. "Besides…" Ryan ran his hand down Troy's face, affectionately. "You're mine, and mine alone. I love Chad, as a friend. But he can't have you."

"So… did I throw up?" Troy asked, determined to make sure that he knew everything that happened last night.

"Oh, yeah," Ryan said, shaking his head. Then he smiled. "But before that… you were, like, way affectionate with me. You totally couldn't keep your hands or your mouth off of me. Not that I was complaining."

Zeke took pity on Troy, since it was obvious that Ryan was having too much fun teasing the boy to actually give him a real answer. "Kelsi found the two of you sleeping on the couch, in a really uncomfortable position," he explained. "So we figured we'd wake you up, and either take you to Ryan's place or just crash somewhere in the house. So we woke the two of you up, and it was so obvious that you both were trashed. But you were just dead on your feet, while Ryan here wanted to go dance more."

Ryan didn't even blush. "It seemed like the thing to do, at the time. I told ya I couldn't resist the call of the dance floor. And there were still a few people left; Sharpay was still here, actually."

"So what happened? Is that when I started throwing up?" Troy asked.

"Actually, Ryan wanted you to dance with him," Zeke said, grinning. "But he was having problems waking you up. That's probably why he started sticking his tongue in your ear. Worked like a charm, though I am never going to use that technique, myself."

"Thank goodness for small favours," Troy commented, sarcastically.

"You hit me in the head, though," Ryan said, pouting. "You sat up so quickly we bumped heads… that hurt." Then he grinned. "But you kissed it better, so it was alright. That was when you couldn't keep your hands off me."

"And when you went all Dracula on my neck?" Troy replied, pointedly. "My parents- especially my father- could barely look me in the eye when I had those marks you left last Friday. Gabriella wasn't much for hickeys, so…"

"Well, if I remember, it was you that left hickeys on Gabi," Ryan countered. "Contrary to what you may think, I am not the girl in this relationship. And if I want to leave my mark on you, I will. You're the wuss that hobbled to the bathroom not too terribly long after we started making out, and started puking. If only the rest of the students at East High could see their Golden Boy like that… you didn't look nearly so golden leaning over the toilet with this pitiful look on your face. Then you decided you'd pass out on the bathroom floor; I try to help you out, and you puke all over me and you. The smell was horrible." Ryan wrinkled his nose. "I had no idea you'd be this bad- and people call _me _high maintenance."

"You're such a mean boyfriend," Troy said, punching Ryan lightly on the arm. "You're supposed to be all sympathetic and nice to me; I would've done the same for you."

"But so far that's never happened," Ryan noted. "Every time we drink, you end up passing out and I end up taking care of you. Not that that isn't fun, in it's own right," Ryan added, impishly. "At least I got to sleep next to you again; I half expected Zeke to make me sleep on the floor or something."

Zeke snorted. "Have you ever slept on the floor in your entire life?" he asked. "Besides, your sister said you'd behave yourself. Of course, she was pretty convincing," Zeke added, blushing.

"Oh, that's just gross," Ryan grimaced. "It's bad enough when two breeders are kissing and all that, without one of them being my sister."

"So is that it?" Troy asked. "You danced, I puked, and we ended up in Zeke's bed?"

"Well…" Ryan said, looking slightly guilty. For that matter, Zeke seemd to be fidgeting as well. Just then, Chad stumbled into the kitchen, scratching at his bare stomach. At his entrance, Ryan and Zeke immediately put on their poker faces. Confused, Troy turned towards his friend. And almost spit out the water he had made the mistake of drinking just a moment before.

"Why's everybody so loud," Chad complained, his voice rough and sleep-filled. Then he noticed how everybody seemed to be looking at him suspiciously. "What the hell are you looking at?"

"A pretty pretty princess," Ryan blurted out, and that seemed to release the dam; he and Zeke started laughing, and Troy joined them a second later. As Chad started narrowing his eyes, trying to figure out what they'd done to him, Troy couldn't help but look again. Chad had enough makeup on to look like a garish drag queen. Mascara, eye shadow, lipstick… Somebody had put eyeliner on him as well; it was slightly smudged, as if Chad had rubbed his eyes when he'd woken up. And that was just his face; somebody had also written on Chad's chest with some sort of marker.

"Is the party really down there?" Troy finally asked Chad, referring to the message and the arrow pointing downward. Chad looked down at his chest, and groaned.

"I'm killing all of you!" Chad said, growling. He turned on his heel and left the kitchen, presumably to head to the bathroom.

"Was that your guys' doing?" Troy asked.

"The makeup was me," Ryan confessed. "I borrowed some of Sharpay's; she doesn't need to find out about that, though. Zeke was the one who wrote the little message."

"He made me!" Zeke defended himself. "He said he was gonna have sex with you on my bed unless I wrote it."

The kitchen was silent for a while, as the three boys dug into their breakfast. Chad came back soon afterwards; most of the makeup was gone, except for some of the eyeliner. And his shirt was on, as well. "I hate you all," Chad announced, sitting down at the table. "What've I ever done to you?" He grabbed a sandwich, and proceeded to rapidly devour it.

"Chad, it wouldn't be nearly as fun if you'd actually done something to us," Ryan said, smiling. "It was all in good fun, after all. I just thought a little eyeliner would bring out your eyes… it just kinda snowballed from there." Then a devilish look appeared on Ryan's face. "But in my defense, you did look fabulous. If you wore makeup more often, the boys would be all over you."

"Troy," Chad whined. "Tell your boyfriend to stop being mean to me."

"I can't promise anything," Troy said, holding up his arms in surrender. "I'm staying out of this one, and all future conflicts."

"Good call," Zeke replied, smirking.

"So are you still up for lunch today, Chad?" Ryan asked, turning towards the dark-skinned boy. "I'll understand if you're not; you must be seriously hungover."

"I'll never turn down free food," Chad quickly answered. "If we made it late afternoon, though, my stomach'll probably feel up to it. 'S that ok?"

"I've got nothing else planned," Ryan said, shrugging. "I'd probably be hanging out with this lug, after all." He gestured towards Troy, who was occupied with stuffing his face full of Egg McMuffin. Troy froze as he realized that he was being talked about in the conversation. "How about it, Troy? Late lunch ok with you?"

Troy shrugged. "Sure," he said, his mouth full of food.

Ryan sighed theatrically. "I see that table manners will be on my list of things to teach Troy. How to drink without puking is number one, though. I seriously liked that lavender shirt."

"Buy another one," Zeke advised, helpfully. "I think that's what Shar said you and her usually did… instead of paying a dry cleaning bill?"

Ryan flushed. "Maybe once or twice," he admitted. He cast an oddly furtive look towards his boyfriend, who seemed to be oblivious to the conversation.

The rest of breakfast was spent recounting the previous night's events, especially the amount of alcohol each boy had drank. Troy seriously had no idea how many shots he'd had; he usually lost count at a certain point. As Chad and Ryan wrangled, yet again, this time about whether one of the other male partygoers had been checking out Chad's ass, and what Ryan thought Chad should do about it, Troy felt his eyes drooping. He seriously felt wiped out, after a crazy and emotional night like that.

"Troy." At the sound of his name, Troy jerked his head up, to be greeted by the gently smiling face of his boyfriend. "I think we're getting ready to roll out. Chad's gonna go home for a while- shower, change, and all that. And I'm thinking that that sounds like a good idea for the both of us, as well." Ryan said, gesturing towards Troy's wrinkled pants and bare chest, and then at his clean, but rather un-showy clothes. "Did you want to head back to your place, and meet me at the Olive Garden?"

Troy hesitated for a moment, as he thought about it. The Olive Garden part was a surprise to him; most likely Ryan had previously mentioned it, while he had been nodding off. But more surprising was the reluctance that Troy found himself feeling at the thought of parting company with Ryan. "If you don't mind- and of course if it's cool leaving my truck, here- I'd like to go with you," Troy said, almost shyly. "I'm still pretty tired, and I'm afraid if I head home, I'll decide to take a brief nap and won't wake up in time. Plus," and here Troy lowered his head, as if embarrassed to have Chad and Zeke hear him, "I don't want to say goodbye to you yet, even if it'd only be for a few hours."

Sure enough, Chad made a distinct groaning noise as he heard that, but Ryan's beaming smile more than made up for it. "I'm more than ok with that," he said. Reaching out his hand, Ryan briefly squeezed Troy's free hand.

"Ok, I definitely can't deal with you two while I'm hung over," Chad muttered, as he stood up from the table. "You are, like, way too lovey-dovey and shit." Reaching his arms up, Chad stretched, his muscles making an audible popping noise. "I'll see you two in a while. Zeke? Great party, and have fun cleaning it all up."

Zeke just grinned. "I've already got some of the other Wildcats lined up to help me clean up; I hooked 'em up with alcohol last night, so they owe me."

"Good plan," Ryan approved. "So, we'll see you at three o'clock, Chad?"

"I wouldn't miss it for anything," Chad said, grinning. "Being a third wheel is a small price to pay for free food at the Olive Garden!"

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"I'm glad you decided to come with me," Ryan said, as the blue convertible roared down the streets of Albuquerque. "This way, it feels like the date hasn't ended, or whatever." Ryan shrugged, before continuing. "Also… it's always fun to hang out with Zeke and Chad, or any of our other friends. But I sorta wanted to spend some time alone with you. We didn't really get a chance to do that, last night."

Troy smiled. "I feel the same way," he said, softly. "It's kinda silly, but I didn't even want to drive my truck your house by myself- too much time spent away from you." Troy grinned, sheepishly. "I know how pathetic it sounds, but… I didn't want to get too mushy or anything around Chad and Zeke… But you have no idea how happy I was, to have you leap into my arms this morning… To know that everything really happened…"

"Well, I'm a great catch," Ryan replied, modestly. "And I'm damned cute."

"And not at all full of yourself," Troy said, dryly. Just then, they pulled up to a stoplight. Ryan wasted no time and was immediately leaning over and kissing Troy. Troy moaned his appreciation of the kiss, as well as the idea of thoughtful boyfriends buying him a toothbrush. The kiss was eventually ended by the loud honk of the car behind him, angry at the fact that the light had turned without them knowing.

"See, Troy? When we're together, we stop traffic," Ryan said cheekily, quickly hitting the gas.

"That was completely cheesy," Troy complained, but lovingly. Ryan just grinned before concentrating more on his driving; they were hitting the more heavily trafficked areas. The two slipped into silence, the hum of Ryan's car putting Troy into a rather lethargic and relaxed mood.

"Troy. Troy." Troy slowly blinked his eyes open, looking towards the source of the sound. Ryan was leaning over him, his hand gently caressing his face. They were in Ryan's convertible, and they appeared to have stopped.

"You fell asleep about halfway here," Ryan explained, smiling. "I actually let you sleep a little longer, too." Ryan blushed. "I enjoy watching you sleep," he admitted. "You're so peaceful and still. I was laying in bed for a while, this morning, watching you," Ryan said, opening his car door. "But I was hungry, and I figured you would be, too. So I thought that getting breakfast for you was more important."

"I did appreciate it," Troy replied, smiling. "But it would've been nice to wake up beside you." Troy looked down for a second, then gazed back at Ryan. "I freaked out for a second, this morning. I woke up alone in Zeke's bed with a hangover; I was afraid I'd just imagined the part where we made up."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ryan exclaimed, putting his hand to his mouth. "I didn't even think about that." He leaned over and kissed Troy on the forehead. "Does that make up for it?"

Troy laughed, as he opened his car door. "It'll do for now."

The two boys got out of Ryan's blue convertible and walked hand in hand to the front door, Troy carrying his and Ryan's vomit-stained shirts in a plastic bag while wearing one of Zeke's old t-shirts. Troy was hoping that his shirt could be saved; he'd picked that shirt out specially, to impress Ryan. Unfortunately, Troy's real concern was the comment that Zeke had made, that Ryan had probably thought he'd missed. The one about Ryan just buying a new shirt so he didn't have to get it cleaned. It was weird; whenever Troy was with Ryan he really felt like the two of them were on the same page on so many things. And yet, at the same time, it sometimes seemed like he and Ryan lived in completely different worlds. In Ryan's world, money wasn't an issue. If he wanted something like new clothes or something, he could probably buy whatever he wanted. If Troy wanted new clothes, he saved up to buy them. Or the fact that Troy's mother clipped coupons and Ryan's mother probably didn't even know what a coupon was.

Seeing Ryan's estate from the outside reminded Troy every time of the rather glaring differences that existed between the two of them. Coupled with the shirt issue, and Troy was still deep in thought as Ryan led him into stately Evans manor. In fact, Troy was, not for the first time, almost tempted to check the study for hidden bat poles or something. Though Ryan would probably be far more stylish than Robin. Probably slightly more gay, though, if such a thing were possible.

Troy handed the bag off to the Evans butler at Ryan's prompting, and then followed the blonde up the stairs to his room.

"We'll try to get those stains out," Ryan said, his back to Troy as he took off his hat and set it on his bed. "In the meantime, I'll try to find another shirt of mine that fits you; you're a little bulkier than I am, and I tend to wear my shirts a little tight besides." Ryan turned back towards Troy, stripping off his shirt. "But I think…"

What ever else Ryan thought was lost, as Troy, who had immediately pulled off his borrowed shirt, pulled Ryan into an embrace.

"Hey, Troy," Ryan said softly, looking slightly up at the lustful gaze in his boyfriend's eyes.

"I couldn't help it," Troy said, his voice throaty. "Your skin…" Troy bent his head down a little and began kissing Ryan on the lips, gently at first, but then with more and more feeling. Ryan's hands immediately found their way to Troy's bare back, and then downwards to cup his ass in both hands. Troy's own questing digits started tracing their way down Ryan's spine, but stopped abruptly when Ryan winced and he felt some raised lines on Ryan's back.

"Are you ok?" Troy asked, concerned. Ryan flushed, but didn't answer. Troy turned his boyfriend around and found a number of angry red lines on his back. "What happened, Ryan?"

Ryan's face was still as red as a beet. "Well, like I told you earlier, when I woke you back up to go and dance with me, you were, like, totally feeling frisky and all that. And that's when I left those hickeys on you."

"Yeah, I heard that part of the story," Troy said, impatient. "But that doesn't explain why it like you've got scratches all over your back."

"Well, I left out part of the story, earlier," Ryan said, his blush only slightly under control. "I didn't want to give Zeke or Chad too much ammunition against you. See, I gave you those hickeys, but you gave as good as you got."

Troy groaned. "What did I do?"

Ryan smiled, uneasily. "Well… you said something about wanting to see me shirtless. I tried to unbutton it, but I guess I was going too slowly for you, cuz you… you ripped it open. I probably lost about three or four buttons on Zeke's floor, but I really didn't care at that point."

"Wait a second," Troy said, his eyes wide. "I… I ripped your shirt open, and you didn't even care?"

"I know, that's, like, a major deal," Ryan said, grinning. "I don't generally like my clothes getting mussed, and the caveman imitation doesn't often score too many points on Ryan's Romantic Love Scale. But we'll chalk it up to being really drunk… and it seemed like a really good idea at the time." Ryan put his hand on Troy's cheek affectionately. "Next time, though, I'd prefer it if we just removed my shirt the normal way. Between the vomit and the missing buttons, I'm gonna have to buy a new shirt, I'm afraid."

"So those scratches were from… me?" Troy asked, amazed.

"Silly boy, do you think I'd let any other boy do that to me?" Ryan asked, eyebrows raised. "Yes, you left each and every scratch; I know my back looks like a mess. I had to pull my shirt on really quickly after you ran to the bathroom to start throwing up, otherwise Zeke would've seen it."

"I'm so sorry," Troy said, feeling guilty. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Oh, I know you didn't mean to," Ryan waved him off. "And, I don't know… last night _was_ lots of fun." Then Ryan's look became positively devilish. "But having that sorta fun while completely sober? I think that's got a lot to recommend it." Ryan gave Troy a quick kiss on the lips before backing away a little. "But as for now… I don't know about you, but I could really use a shower."

"Yeah, a shower sounds good," Troy said, a little disappointed. He was hoping for a little more fun, but he knew how Ryan was about being mussed. The boy would shower three or four times a day if he could.

Making his way over to the door, Ryan opened it and disappeared down the hallway. Troy's shoulders slumped as he prepared to wait for his turn in the shower. Just then, Ryan's head popped around the door frame. "Are you gonna help me wash my back or not?" he asked, cheekily. Then he was gone again.

Troy wasted no time but dashed off out of Ryan's room and towards the open bathroom doorway. Ryan was waiting for him in there, with a broad smile on his face.

"What were you waiting for, an engraved invitation?" Ryan said, amused. "Or was I not subtle enough?" He closed the bathroom door and locked it.

"Oh, no, I was… you were…" Troy fumbled. "I don't know. Maybe I was afraid to get my hopes up, or something."

"Well, you're in luck, cowboy," Ryan replied, as he unbuckled his belt, and started pulling it off. The pants were the next to go, as Ryan, with little sense of modesty, tugged them down and neatly folded them up. Then he looked over at Troy. "This would be the part where we get undressed. Unless, of course, you shower with your pants on?"

"Oh!" Troy said, startled. Preoccupied with watching Ryan, he hadn't even been thinking about his own clothes. He quickly took his belt off and started fumbling with his jeans. Watching Ryan grab a couple of towels out of the linen closet while clad in nothing but a skimpy pair of boxers was making him a little distracted. Frustrated at his lack of progress on his jeans, Troy finally directed his full attention towards the task at hand and bent down to pull his now un-buttoned jeans off. With the offending article of clothing finally off, Troy looked back up just in time to see Ryan's pale ass go right past him as his boyfriend entered the shower and turned on the water. Troy gulped, suddenly filled with misgivings for some reason. But he tugged his own boxers down and followed the blonde any way.

Everything in the Evans estate was huge, and the shower was no exception. But for some reason, though, Troy was still feeling rather claustrophobic in this spacious shower stall. He knew that Ryan was looking him over, but Troy couldn't bring himself to look down, for some reason. Ryan must've picked up on Troy's unease because he laid his hand tenderly on Troy's cheek. Troy actually flinched for a second at the sudden contact of skin on skin. But he made himself relax enough to accept Ryan's touch. "You're trembling," Ryan said in surprise. "What's the matter?"

"I… I don't know," Troy said, honestly. "I'm just feeling really uncomfortable, all of a sudden." He turned away, too ashamed to make eye contact with Ryan. And he definitely wasn't going to look down. "It's… this shower sounded fun, but now that I'm in here…"

"Hey, now," Ryan said, soothingly. He gently turned Troy's face towards his own. "Rule 1 is that we don't do anything we're not comfortable with. If you're not ready to shower together, that's ok. You stay in here, and take your time. Then I'll shower."

Ryan didn't sound disappointed to Troy, but as he turned to exit the shower stall Troy found himself holding onto Ryan's hand and pulling him back. "Just, wait," Troy said, looking pleadingly, desperate to explain. Ryan regarded him for a second, before nodding. "It's just… I'm still getting used to being with a guy. Whenever I shower after gym or practice, I'm in the same shower room with a bunch of other guys, but they're not showering with me? I don't know. But showering with you… it just feels weird. Maybe that's just the last remnants of my heterosexuality or something."

Ryan's expression softened. "I know you're still coming to grips with all of this," he said, combing some of Troy's stray hairs back into place with his fingers. "And I'm willing to give you time to do that. So you have a good shower." Ryan gave Troy a big grin. "It's fine! I'm not mad! You tell me when you're ready." Ryan tried to turn to leave the shower again, but Troy hadn't released his grip on Ryan's hand.

"But I want to be ready," Troy said, pleadingly. "I don't want this to feel weird. I want this to feel… normal to me. I want to get comfortable with this."

Ryan considered his boyfriend's words for a second, before smiling at him. "In that case, we'll go slowly. And if you get too uncomfortable, let me know immediately. Okay?"

Troy nodded his head, gratefully. Already, Ryan's soothing words had calmed him down, somewhat. "I'm a little embarrassed," Troy admitted. "I'm acting like I'm a blushing virgin, while you're Mr. Suave over there."

"Well, in terms of gay relationships, you _are_ a virgin," Ryan pointed out, reasonably. "It's a completely new ballgame. On a different playing field, no less. But do you remember what I said to you before our first kiss?"

Troy immediately smiled at the memory. He could remember it as clear as day. "You told me not to think of it as kissing another boy. Just think about you." Troy took the hand still clasped in his own and placed it on his chest. Ryan smiled encouragingly at Troy as he slowly moved his hand in small circles on Troy's chest. Sensing no resistance, Ryan grabbed the washcloth and the bottle of shower gel from a small shelf. He soon had the cloth ready and began gently washing Troy's muscled chest, his other hand on Troy's shoulder.

Troy sighed, enjoying Ryan's ministrations quite a bit; in fact he was now hard-pressed to remember why he'd protested in the first place. He must've been insane to deny this sort of treatment. Ryan's hands felt really good against his body, as the blonde now slowly washed the soap off of Troy's chest.

"Let me get your back, now," Ryan said, using his free hand to guide Troy around. Troy immediately turned, wanting to feel Ryan's hands on his body again. He got his wish a moment later as Ryan began lathering up his back.

"This _is_ nice," Troy admitted. "Thanks for putting up with my craziness." Troy chuckled, wryly. "Of course, you're spoiling me now, and any future showers I take by myself are going to be bitterly disappointing."

"How do you know that wasn't my intent all along?" Ryan replied, slyly. Then he leaned forward, his mouth hovering over Troy's ear. "Here's where it gets a little more interesting," he whispered, the movement of his lips tickling Troy's ear. He shivered at the sensation. "Feel free to stop me at any time." With that, the hands that had been exploring Troy's lower back began creeping downward. And at the same time, Ryan's mouth began doing wonderful things to Troy's neck.

Troy groaned at the new sensation; with Ryan's fingers ghosting over his bum and his mouth tracing its way across his throat, his whole body felt like it was tingling. Even if he had wanted to stop Ryan, Troy wasn't even sure he could remember how to form the words.

"I think about you all the time," Ryan said, murmuring into Troy's ear. "Back at Lava Springs, I'd see you playing basketball with Chad and the others, without a shirt on. You have no idea how much that turned me on. All sweaty and flushed…" Ryan trailed his finger down Troy's spine, stopping just at the cleft of his ass. Troy shivered at the feeling. "Then last weekend… after ice skating… God, you looked perfect. I wish I could institute a rule banning you from wearing clothes when you're here with me." Ryan's hands started reaching around Troy's waist. "You drive me crazy, Troy."

Troy watched in fascination the pale hands on his waist as they approached his cock. At the last moment, though, Ryan stopped them and instead moved them upwards to caress Troy's naked torso. "And last night… that was something else, Troy. I may have lost a good shirt, but it was totally worth it. So, I've come to a decision, Troy."

"What's… that?" Troy managed to get out, biting back a moan. Ryan was tweaking his nipples; not hard enough to hurt, but enough to make them hard as a rock. Of course, they weren't as hard as other parts that Troy could name.

"You need a tattoo on your ass that says "Property of Ryan Evans;" in hot pink, of course." Troy could feel Ryan's grin against his throat.

"You!" Troy turned around and started splashing water at Ryan. "You get me all worked up, and that's what you come up with?" Troy couldn't help but laugh, even as he was craving more of Ryan's attention to take care of a certain problem. Ryan could be such a dork sometimes, but he was Troy's dork.

"But, Troy! I don't know what you mean!" Ryan protested, his mouth grinning widely. "What's so bad about hot pink? And right there, on your ass, so all the Wildcats can see it and they'll know they can't have you!"

Troy started tickling Ryan mercilessly, the pale boy squealing as he tried to stop it. Ryan had his hands on Troy's arms, trying to stop him, when Troy, trying to get his hands back, yanked hard and suddenly Troy found his arms full of a naked Ryan Evans. He could feel Ryan's pale, smooth skin against his own, could feel the heat coming from the smaller boy's body. Troy could feel Ryan's heart beating fast in his chest, Ryan's hot breath on his face. Most importantly, though, Troy could feel Ryan's cock, hard as a rock, pressed against Troy's leg while Troy's own stiff member was pressed up against Ryan's lightly defined abs.

"Troy…" Ryan moaned. He- after a long hesitation- made a halfhearted attempt to back away. Mostly likely out of respect of Troy's boundaries and earlier skittishness. But that feeling was long gone for Troy, and he firmly put his arms around Ryan, keeping him in place.

"Isn't this what you wanted?" Troy said, quietly. He chuckled a little bit. "I'm sure you didn't invite me into the shower just to wash my back."

"But you said you were uncomfortable, and I didn't want to force you, and…" Ryan was babbling, probably afraid he'd pushed too much. So Troy decided to demonstrate that he wasn't uncomfortable any more, and cut the blonde off with a kiss. Ryan immediately melted into the kiss and wrapped his own arms around Troy.

"I actually think about you, too," Troy said, finally breaking the kiss. "In that way, I mean." He blushed a little bit as he admitted that. "I loved you in those jeans last night." Troy smiled, shyly, as he continued. "I'm not good at this talking… thing. Especially about… sex, and stuff. Ga- somebody wanted me to work on it, the talking stuff, but when I'm… you know…" Troy actually blushed bright red as he couldn't articulate the word he meant. "I'm more about doing." Troy's hands began to slip down Ryan's back, to grasp Ryan's ass. "And I know I'm a complete amateur about being with another guy… and I never dreamed I'd even be with a guy, period. But… I wouldn't want to be with anybody else, and… I want to… I want you to…" Again, Troy couldn't spit out the words.

"I know what you mean," Ryan said, smiling. Then he groaned, as Troy began rocking back and forth. "You're… doing… just… fine… Oh God, Troy!" With that, Ryan captured Troy's lips in a fierce kiss as his hands found their way to Troy's own muscled ass. The friction was incredible, as Troy could feel himself getting so close to release. He could barely remember where he was, or anything else like that. Right then and there, Ryan was all Troy was aware of. Ryan seemed slightly more aware, though, as he broke the kiss and backed off before Troy reached climax. Troy opened his eyes in confusion- he wasn't even sure when he'd closed them, actually- but the devilish grin on Ryan's face assured him that nothing bad had happened. Ryan pushed Troy backwards until the brunette could feel the wall of the shower against his back. Ryan began kissing him again, that kiss of his that made Troy feel like his very essence was being sucked away. Then he felt Ryan's hand on his cock, slowly at first, but then steadily getting faster as the kiss grew in intensity.

Once again, Troy felt himself getting close, but again, Ryan stopped stroking him and broke off the kiss again.

"Please, babe," Troy moaned, his voice full of yearning for release, for completion… for Ryan himself.

"Don't worry, Troy, only the best for you," Ryan said, a naughty smile on his face. And suddenly, before Troy could realize what was going to happen, Ryan knelt down and quickly took all of Troy in his mouth.

"Oh, God, Oh, God…" Troy's groans soon turned to an unintellible moan as Ryan continued to blow him. The blonde was doing all the right things, and Troy had been so close before… This time, Ryan didn't back off again, and Troy knew that he was about to blow.

"Oh, God, Ryan, I'm…!!" was all Troy could get out before he let out a wail and started shooting into Ryan's waiting mouth. Troy felt like he could die happy, right then and there. Finally spent, Troy slid down the wall of the shower, unable to hold himself up. Ryan straightened up, still on his knees, with his own stiff member pointed towards Troy. A few strokes later, and Ryan started shooting, most of it landing on Troy's chest, but some hit Troy's cheek. Panting heavily, Ryan collapsed next to Troy, putting his head on Troy's shoulder. Troy, almost automatically, wrapped his arm around Ryan's waist.

"That was…" Troy struggled to articulate his words, but luckily Ryan saved him by putting his finger to Troy's lips.

"I know, Troy," Ryan said, looking a little tired, but was still smiling serenely. "I felt it, too. And we'll work on the talking part." Ryan leaned over and kissed Troy gently on the cheek. "And that was only just the beginning… so, Troy, just answer me one thing."

"What's that, Ry?" Troy said, shortening Ryan's name almost without thinking about it.

"Are you a little more comfortable about being in the shower with me, or are we gonna have to work on that a little more?"

Troy laughed, ruffling Ryan's blonde head with his free hand. "I think I'll need just a little bit more reinforcement; say, twenty or thirty more times oughta do it."

"We'll see what we can do about that," Ryan said, chuckling. "But why don't we finish this shower business, and get out of the water?"

Troy agreed, and managed to stand up. Pulling Ryan to his feet, Troy immediately began lathering up his boyfriend's body with steady hands, a far cry from when they'd first gotten into the shower. This was the sort of thing Troy could definitely get used to.

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"Thank you so much, for being so patient with me," Troy said, for the umpteenth time. The two were laying in Ryan's bed, cuddled up together. In a change of position, Troy was laying with his head on Ryan's shoulder, holding the blonde close to him. Ryan had his chin resting on Troy's brown locks, still just a bit damp from the shower.

"Why do you think you panicked a little?" Ryan asked, curiously. "Was it like you said? The last remnants of your heterosexuality, battling to stay alive?"

Troy considered it for a moment. "That was part of it," he finally said, pensively. "And I was not panicking by the way; Troy Bolton doesn't panic."

"Riiight," Ryan said, an eyebrow raised. "So what was the other part?"

Troy chewed on his lip for a moment, as if unsure whether he should tell Ryan the full truth. But the choice was an easy one. "Part of it was Gabriella," Troy admitted.

"How does she fit in?" Ryan asked, confused.

Troy sighed, before he began to tell Ryan his story. "When Gabi and I first had… well, you know…"

"You fucked," Ryan said, a tad impatiently. "Troy, I'm not going to get all offended if you said you fucked Gabriella- I'm aware of that fact. It's in the past, and I'm not holding it against you. So, when you and Gabi fucked…"

"When we first _had sex_," Troy said, emphasizing the last two words, "we never showered together. It was alright to be naked around each other when we were screwing, but afterwards Gabriella would be out of bed in a flash and into the shower before I could even pull the rubber off." Troy's face was beet-red as he described his sex life with Gabriella to Ryan.

"I'm guessing that that changed, after a while," Ryan observed.

"Yeah," Troy admitted. "A little bit. We started showering together, but Gabriella was always touchy about the subject. Very little touching went on, for that matter. That's how she was when she was with me, at least. I guess she must've changed her ways since getting with Jason. But I always got the impression that she actually felt a little guilty each time we had sex. Like in some weird way she regretted it, but at the same time she was the one who initiated it more than a few times."

"It can't be as bad as having sex with a guy, and as soon as he'd cum he'd start yelling at you and trying to hit you. And try to blame you for making him a fag," Ryan said, sighing.

"Did that happen to you?" Troy asked, concerned.

"First boyfriend, Drake Mallory," Ryan confirmed. "Came onto me at a country club luncheon- not Lava Springs- and then after the first time, he blamed _me_ for making him gay."

"Did you dump him?" Troy said, forgetting his own story. He'd been curious as to Ryan's prior experiences with guys. It was obvious the boy had skill.

"Nah, because not too long after he started shouting, he broke down and sobbed like a baby," Ryan said, smiling just a little. "We talked, and worked things out. We stayed together another month or two after that."

"What happened?" Troy asked.

"Oh, the usual," Ryan said, simply. "He started embracing the idea of being gay. Including the negative stereotypes that come along with it. Therefore he decided that being in a monogamous relationship was too confining. He wanted an open relationship, and I told him he could see whoever he wanted. But I wasn't going to stay with him." Ryan shrugged. "So, about Gabriella and showers. You were saying?"

Troy had to adjust his train of thought back to his explanation. "Oh, yeah. Well, like I said, the few times we actually showered together, Gabriella really wasn't about the touching. She was a little funny about that sorta thing." Then Troy frowned. "But the last time it happened… I think that's what sorta did it for me."

"The last time?" Ryan asked. "The last time you showered together, or the last time you had sex, or what?"

"Both," Troy answered. "It was a week after the musicale, and we'd barely spoken to each other since then. But I'd gone over to her house, in an attempt to make peace, or whatever. She wasn't having it." Troy sighed.

"I thought you said you'd never had sex with her after the musicale," Ryan said, frowning.

"Believe me, I wish that had been true," Troy said, darkly. "It was… it was the worst time I'd ever had. It was angry, it was meaningless… And even though I orgasmed, even the pleasure felt hollow. It was a mistake from the get-go, and I really wish I'd never gone over there."

"But you still showered together?" Ryan asked, perplexed. "Seems to me, you wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere near her."

"There was only enough water left for one shower," Troy replied, unhappily. "I guess I should've just left and showered at home, but I just wanted to get all the dirt and grime off of me, immediately. And get rid of that slimy, dirty feeling that the sex had left with me. Since Gabi was in her usual 'I need the shower more than you do' sort of mood, we somehow ended up in the shower together."

"I'm guessing it didn't go as well as our debut performance?" Ryan surmised, wryly.

"Not even close," Troy confirmed. "We treated each other like the other had the plague or something. It felt so awkward, and just as much of a mistake as the sex had been." He shrugged, before continuing. "So when _we_ were in the shower, together, I guess part of me couldn't help but remember that awful time, when touching the other person in the shower was the last thing I ever wanted to do."

"I trust I've changed your feelings about showering together," Ryan said, holding Troy a little tighter, as if to reassure him that Ryan was still there with him.

"You've changed my feelings about a lot of things," Troy said, looking up towards Ryan's face. "I wouldn't have believed I could ever end up with somebody like you." Then Troy got an evil smirk on his face. "I've never had someone that knows me like you do, the way you do. And I've never had someone, as good for me as you, no one like you."

Ryan slapped Troy on the head, lightly. "We agreed last summer. No more quoting lyrics of any kind. So no more 'we're all in this together,' no more working this out, and definitely no more 'get'cha head in the game!' Seriously, Troy, which one of you Wildcats came up with that one? It might've been okay the first couple times. But a gazillion times later, and it makes me want to commit ritual suicide."

"I'm blaming Chad," Troy decided. "Cuz if I don't, you're gonna end up blaming me for it. So I'm gonna say it was all Chad's doing."

"Nice," Ryan said, smirking. "When in trouble, throw your best friend to the dogs."

"What time are we meeting Chad, anyway?" Troy asked. "I was… nodding off earlier, and didn't hear it. Or else I forgot."

"Don't worry, we have plenty of time," Ryan said, smiling.

"Good," Troy said, his voice a little softer. "Cuz I was hoping we could nap, a little… just like this." Troy ran his hand gently down Ryan's chest.

"That's a good idea," Ryan said, reaching over for his cell phone on the nightstand. "I'll set the alarm so that we'll wake up in time to get ready." After the phone was set, Ryan settled into the bed, while Troy shifted down until he was using Ryan's pale chest as a blanket.

"Best… pillow… ever…" Troy said, stroking Ryan's chest, lightly.

"Sleep well, Troy," Ryan said, smiling. And with that, the two boys gradually faded off into slumber.

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Hope you enjoyed our continuing saga! Troy and Ryan are finally together, have finally admitted their love for each other… but the road to happiness has many bumps and tricky curves!

And though I've promised you faster chapters before, this time I'm gonna do my absolute best. I've set myself a reasonable deadline, and I'll do what I can to achieve it.

Thanks to everybody who reviewed my story… the response was overwhelming, and gives me motivation to keep Pieces going!!

Let me know what you think about this one!

Squall


	21. An Afternoon With the Newlyweds

A/N: Ok, so I have little excuse for taking so long, besides being busy. Really busy. My deadline came and went, and my only defense is that I horribly miscalculated just how long this chapter could be. But I should've known… When Troy and Chad talk, they take a while. When Troy and Ryan talk, they take a while. Now put the three of them together, and it takes more than a little while.

Also, this chapter, even though it's longer than most of them, is not even the full chapter as was originally intended. It seriously got so long that I simply had to truncate it. But since the next chapter is more than half-written (since it was originally part of this one) I can say with absolute certainty that the next chapter with be submitted within the next fortnight. So in the meantime, enjoy!

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

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Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 21 - An Afternoon with the Newlyweds

"What the fuck is taking you two so long?" Chad demanded over the phone. "You promised me food!"

"Dude, we're on our way," Troy said, chuckling. "Hungry at all?"

"Troy, let me talk to Chad," Ryan asked, plaintively. "Or at least stop driving so fast! You keep talking, and you never get to drive my car again!"

"Dude, Ryan's letting you drive?" Chad asked, a little enviously. "He's never let _me_ drive!"

"Don't worry, this'll be Troy's last time," Ryan said, as he grabbed the phone out of Troy's hand. "He doesn't know how to treat my baby, properly. He's speeding down the highway with only one hand on the steering wheel!" Ryan had his gaze fixed on Troy the whole time, as if he couldn't stomach watching the road rushing at them so fast.

"Ryan, you should trust me more than that," Troy chided him. "I drive like this all the time; it's fine!"

"Strangely enough, that doesn't reassure me- it just makes me even more worried," Ryan said, a serious tone in his voice. "You need to drive safer, Troy." He gulped. "Especially when I'm riding with you."

"Hey, I'm still on the phone, here," Chad whined. "I'm wasting away here, while you two act like an old married couple! What's taking so long?"

"Well…" Ryan said, blushing slightly. Troy, who had heard the question, just smiled over at Ryan before returning his attention to the road. "We were trying to find some more of my clothes that would fit Troy… and we got a little distracted."

"Why do I always regret asking these questions?" Chad said with a groan. "You'd think I'd have learned by now. Fine, so you're on your way. How much longer?"

"Well, with Speed Racer at the wheel here, I'd say five minutes," Ryan said, glaring at Troy. "So we'll see you then?"

"Ok," said Chad. "I'll see if I can get us a table." With that, Chad ended the call.

"Well, it's good to see that Chad is capable of showing gratitude," Ryan said, dryly. "I'm assuming he forgot that I'm the one treating him to a nice lunch? And slow down!" Ryan chastised Troy. "I think we just passed the speed of sound a while back, and I wanted to get to lunch in one piece."

"But you said you weren't gonna let me drive anymore," Troy pointed out. "So I have to enjoy my last turn as much as I can."

"You can have another turn if you'll just slow down," Ryan said, actually sounding upset. "You're speeding up even more… come on, Troy, please slow down."

"Hey, don't worry, Ryan, I'm an old pro at this sort of thing," Troy said, turning his head again to grin at Ryan devilishly. Ryan didn't smile back, but pointed urgently towards the highway. One hand, that is. Even from his brief glance from the driver's seat, Troy could see Ryan clenching the armrest tightly, his knuckles white.

"Seriously, Ryan, what's the matter?" Troy asked, just the slightest bit annoyed. It was just a bit of fun, and Ryan seemed to be freaking out over nothing. A grim-faced Ryan didn't answer, just shook his head as his hands seemed to tighten his grip even more. Then a memory came back to Troy, belatedly, and he suddenly wanted to slap himself for being so stupid. And he would have, too, if he didn't know that Ryan would've freaked out that he was taking his hand off the steering wheel again.

"The car accident," Troy said, softly, as he slowed the convertible down. "Shit, Ryan, I'm so sorry. I'm a fuckin' idiot."

"It's ok, Troy," Ryan said, his voice still strained as he slowly loosened his death grip on the armrest. "I'm just… I'm just not a very good passenger when it comes to fast cars. That's the main reason why Sharpay doesn't drive worse than she does- when I'm in the car, at least. She knows I don't ride well… It's the whole not being in control of the vehicle thing. Makes me feel helpless… and barrelling down the highway at top speed just makes it worse."

"God, Ryan, I am so fuckin' sorry," Troy apologized, again, his voice filled with remorse. "I was so concerned with having fun with this wonderful car… I didn't even listen to you when you asked me to slow down. I am… I am so sorry… I mean, I-"

"Troy," Ryan interrupted. "I know you're sorry; don't worry about it any more. We're both fine, we didn't crash, and now we know not to drive like a crazy man down the highway when Ryan's the passenger. Ok?"

"Ok," Troy said, thankfully. "Why didn't you just say something, though?"

"Well, I _did_ ask you to slow down," Ryan said, petulantly. Then he looked down. "I didn't say anything because I didn't want to seem pathetic just because I couldn't handle riding in a speeding car. I mean, I know you wouldn't have thought any less of me," Ryan admitted, "but old habits die hard, and I am an Evans, you know. We don't like admitting weakness."

"Well, next time just tell me," Troy said, gently. "I'll understand." Then something occurred to him. "But if you're such a bad passenger, why are you always riding along with Sharpay? I mean, you've had this convertible as long as she's had hers, right?"

Ryan just shrugged. "Like I told you before, we both really enjoyed riding to and from school together- it was brother and sister time. Shar didn't drive crazy, and I got to drive every once in a while. I think I just got used to riding with her, after a while."

"Well, I suppose," Troy said, begrudgingly. "I guess I might be able to adjust to the fact that she's not entirely out for herself…" Troy flashed a big smile to Ryan after he said that.

"Hey, she is my twin, after all," Ryan replied, picking up on the fact that Troy was mostly kidding. "We're, like, obligated to care about each other. And Shar isn't the bloodthirsty shark you think she is… all the time," Ryan amended.

"She's just luring you in with a false sense of confidence," Troy said, smiling. He made sure to use his turn signals as he got onto the off ramp. "Seriously, though, you don't have to convince me any more. Sharpay may never be my favourite person in the world- that would be you, of course- and I know I'll never be hers… but one thing I do know for certain is that she cares a lot about you. That's something the two of us have in common, at least."

Ryan beamed, as he put his hand on Troy's leg. "Thanks, Troy. I couldn't imagine my life without the both of you in it." Ryan made a face. "I'd probably end up with that friend of yours with the wild hairstyle," he said, smiling. "He _is_ kinda cute, though. I guess I could do a lot worse."

"Ok, that's it, I'm cancelling this lunch," Troy said, acting as though he was going to turn the wrong way. "It's bad enough you pursuing Chad, without me being there to witness it."

"You know much better than that, Troy," Ryan said, his hand rubbing Troy's leg gently. They were now sitting at a stoplight, waiting to turn left into the shopping complex that contained the Olive Garden. "It still gets me, though, the idea of you being able to make jokes like that."

"What do you mean?" Troy asked, a little puzzled. "What kind of jokes?"

"Oh, you know…" Ryan said, waving his hand. "The jokes about me hooking up with Chad, or anybody else."

"Why, what's wrong with them?" Troy asked, even more confused. There was definitely something he wasn't getting.

"Well… I guess I'm just remembering what I used to think about you. I mean, considering that I never really knew you that well, before this summer," Ryan said, shrugging. "So all I had to base things on, then, was what I observed this summer, and, to be fair, you did seem to have plenty of reason."

"Come on, Ry, just say it," Troy said, his tone amused as the light turned green and he made the left turn. "You know I won't be mad."

"Well, I'm just saying that before I really got to know you, you always seemed like you were the insane jealous type," Ryan said, in a conversational tone. "I mean, I'm glad I was wrong about you because I like the non-jealous Troy just fine. Though is it considered jealousy if I can't even say anything about another guy without you getting all possessive and everything?" Then Ryan smiled affectionately. "Though it is cute. And I enjoy being yours. Couldn't imagine being with anybody else, really, even that goofy friend of yours." Ryan caressed Troy's face, briefly.

Troy chuckled a little bit. "You've only got yourself to blame for that one," Troy said, getting into the right turn lane. They could now see the Olive Garden a ways up ahead. "I was a different guy, then. I was still trying to figure out who I was, and I still didn't have a fuckin' clue in the world what I was doing when it came to dating. I mean, my God, could I be any more clueless? I thought you were my biggest competition, for fuck's sake! Here you are, doing the gay best friend thing- which, according to Chad, you're pretty good at- and I'm the only moron who actually thought you were mackin' on my girl." Troy laughed at that one.

"Yeah, you were pretty clueless back then," Ryan agreed. "I mean, figuring that I was pursuing Gabriella? Yeah, she really wasn't my type. For that matter, you were so dense back then, you actually thought _you_ were straight! How oblivious can you be?"

"Good point," Troy agreed. "If I'd known back then, I wouldn't have had to deal with all this Gabriella drama… and we would've been having fun together that much longer."

"No point in mourning the past," Ryan pointed out, reasonably. "Like we've said before, we're together now, and that's all that matters."

"Well said," Troy said, taking advantage of some stalled traffic in front of them to give Ryan a peck on the lips. "Long story short…"

"Too late," Ryan inserted, immediately.

Troy mock-scowled at him. "I learned a valuable lesson that summer. You were the cause of that, if you remember."

"Ah, yes," Ryan said, remembering. "I seem to recall doubting that you were even listening to me, at the time. Cuz I definitely wasn't your favorite person, then."

"Not so much, then," Troy admitted, candidly. "But you told me you were gonna give me advice whether I liked it or not, and that if I knew what was good for me, I'd listen." His eyes sparkled. "I love a forceful man."

"I'll keep that in mind for later," Ryan said, his eyes just as bright. "I think I might have a policeman's uniform at home somewhere. It was for an audition," he added, in response to Troy's raised eyebrow.

"See, I would've pictured you in one of those adorable sailor uniforms," Troy admitted in a low voice, blushing more than a little. Definitely on the list of sex-related things that Troy didn't talk about was any kinky thoughts he might have had about Ryan in uniforms. Or the fact that just picturing Ryan in such an outfit actually made Troy hard. He was getting more comfortable with his feelings… but not _that_ comfortable. At the same time, though, Troy couldn't resist adding "With that white hat sitting on your head at a jaunty angle. I think that would be perfect."

"Hmm," Ryan pondered this for a while. "Leaving your fetishes aside for the moment- but rest assured we'll come back to that- what part of my advice helped, specifically? Because I seem to remember going off on you for quite a while."

"It was a memorable night," Troy said, nodding. "It was after you had been invited over to Gabi's house for movie night, wasn't it?" Troy asked, as he applied the brakes, yet again. Traffic was murder at the mall, as usual. It seemed like every five feet they drove, there were more cars pulling out, more people crossing the street. At this rate, Troy was almost tempted to just get out and walk. But Ryan would surely object to that- after all it was _his_ car.

"It was probably about a week or three after I rightfully won the Star Dazzle award," Ryan said, helping out. "Chad had invited me to the batting cages once or twice, and Zeke seemed to be talking to me all the time, for insider info on my sister." Ryan rolled his eyes. "I'd been avoiding hanging out with you, though. But Gabi positively insisted that I show up for movie and brownie night, and I'd run out of excuses. So there I was."

"Well, I wasn't sure if I wanted to be hanging out with you, either," Troy confessed. "I was kinda leery about having an Evans as a friend, after everything your sister had done." Then Troy actually smirked at Ryan. "Then you just had to give her that hug and peck on the cheek!"

"I was nervous!" Ryan exclaimed, defensively. "That's how I usually greeted Gabi when you weren't around, and it just sorta happened. I mean, since Gabi 'accidentally' gave me the wrong time, it ended up being you, me, and Gabi for a while." Ryan shook his head. "Just the idea of the three of us alone together conjures up vast images of awkwardness. I had every right to be nervous!"

"I never thought I could get so upset about something," Troy admitted, flushing slightly. "All I know was… you gave her a little attention, and my temper went through the roof. I am so sorry for yelling at you so much, and so loudly." Troy grinned, sheepishly. "It's just that I thought you wanted Gabi… and after everything I'd done, I figured she might prefer you to me."

"Well, the yelling _did_ reveal the darker side of Troy Bolton," Ryan said, shaking his head. "To me, you'd always come across as this smug, self-satisfied jock who thought he was so fucking great. And while the East High student body and my family seemed to think the sun shined out of your arse, _I _thought you were just a stupid asshole. One that had apparently forgotten that if not for my scheming, he wouldn't even have won Gabriella back. So I didn't pull any punches, and told you exactly how out of line you were."

"I think that's what did the trick," Troy said, nodding. "You told me the bitter truth, and made me swallow it. Gabi had just yelled at me, and threatened to dump my ass again if I was going to be so damned jealous and possessive. And all I could think about was blaming the whole thing on you. No matter how much the both of you insisted that you were just friends, I just wouldn't listen. And then you…" Troy smiled as he reminisced. "You said that Gabi and I were together, and if we wanted to stay together, I had to put some trust in our relationship. That if I didn't even trust Gabi when she said that the two of you were just friends, we might as well break up now."

"I was almost expecting you to hit me," Ryan confided in Troy. "You seriously looked pissed."

"Well, I was, at first… I mean, the sheer gall of you telling me how to treat Gabriella." Troy shook his head. He couldn't believe he'd actually felt like that towards Ryan. "But before I could even process what you told me, you also said that you really didn't like me… but that you were good friends with Gabi, Chad, and the others, and for the sake of that, you hoped we could at least be civil towards each other."

"I think we've managed a little more than civil," Ryan said, a satisfied tone in his voice. "I left you with those thoughts, and headed home. Sorta lost my taste for brownies. Then I got your voice mail," he said, his eyes glittering. "I never would've expected it. Mr. Troy Bolton himself, admitting that he was wrong… and that he was sorry." Ryan smiled. "I think that's what made me give you a chance. It was the fact that you said you were wrong… made me realize that maybe I didn't know Troy Bolton as well as I thought I did."

"Well, I _was_ wrong," Troy said, shrugging. "Even though facing up to that- to you, of all people- was fuckin' difficult, I gotta tell ya. But even though you seemed to despise me, I was surprised that you were willing to put most of that aside for the sake of our friends. That seemed… unlike an Evans to do that. And I realized that maybe you weren't who I thought you were, either."

"It's crazy, isn't it?" Ryan said, shaking his head. "We've gone to school together since kindergarten, and it took us this long to even try to get to know each other. I always thought you were just a dumb jock, and you probably thought I was Sharpay's slavishly devoted stupid brother."

"Well, I'm glad we got through all that," Troy said, smiling. "I mean, I'm still the dumb jock… but luckily I was smart enough not to let you get away."

"So true," Ryan said, with feeling. Troy slapped him on the hand, but not hard. "Out of such humble beginnings, a friendship was made," Ryan declared. "All in all, I'd say it's worked out alright, wouldn't you?"

"Better than alright," Troy agreed. The two finally pulled into the crowded parking lot of the Olive Garden. "I sure hope Chad reserved us a table, or something. Cuz I'm starving."

"Same here," Ryan said, unbuckling his seat belt and getting out of the car. Troy did the same, locking the doors before he exited the car. Handing the keys off to Ryan, Troy waited for the blonde to stow them away in his pocket before he reached for his hand. Ryan smiled warmly at Troy as they locked digits, and as the couple approached the front doors he was still smiling. Troy, for his own part, was feeling incredibly smug. For some reason, Troy felt inordinately proud whenever he got to walk around with Ryan in public. He really did feel like he was extremely lucky to hook up with such a great guy as Ryan Evans, and he wanted everybody to see just how lucky he was.

The two boys entered the Olive Garden and found the waiting area full, as expected. It was Ryan who spotted Chad's distinctive hair, and pointed him out with his free hand.

"Took you guys long enough," Chad grumbled, but his eyes betrayed the fact that he was happy to see his friends. He and Troy playfully cuffed each other in the shoulder, while Ryan gave Chad a one-armed hug. One-armed, since his other hand was still clinched in Troy's, who wasn't letting go. Troy also saw that Ryan briefly winced when Chad's arm came into contact with his scratched-up back, but Chad didn't seem to notice. "I was expecting you guys here like ten minutes ago. I thought Troy was doing his best impression of Speed Racer." Chad grinned. "But I gotta say, Evans, you are, like, the worst Trixie ever."

Troy felt a flash of guilt as he was reminded of his earlier thoughtlessness. Naturally Ryan filled in the gaps.

"Doesn't really matter one way or the other, anymore," Ryan shrugged. "Troy's days as Speed Racer are over, so I won't have to be Trixie. Troy decided that he'd like more than one turn driving my car, so he listened to me and slowed down a little," Ryan explained, easily. Troy couldn't help but feel relieved that Ryan had covered for him, without revealing just how thoughtless he was.

Chad nodded sagely. "That's a good call, Troy. No sense in losing your privileges on the first day." Then he looked at Ryan hopefully. "I don't suppose there's any chance I might get a turn, too?"

"As long as I get a turn with you," Ryan replied immediately. He winked at Chad, who immediately blushed.

"Never mind, then," Chad mumbled, as he suddenly seemed to find the floor incredibly fascinating.

"I'm just kidding, Chad," Ryan said, lightly. "Troy's the jealous type, so I'm afraid our forbidden love will never come to pass. So, to help you through the pain of getting over me, I'll let you try out my car some day. But!" he added, as Chad perked up. "There'll be a couple of ground rules before that happens. I don't want you wrecking my car, after all."

"Thank you so much!" Chad said, excitedly. Then he jumped a mile as the little black device in his hand began to vibrate. "Hey! Our table's ready!"

"Great!" Troy said, his stomach growling. The three boys headed over to the hostess station, where Chad handed over the table-buzzer-thingy, or whatever it was called- Troy didn't really care what they called it. All that mattered was that they were gonna get fed soon.

"I hope we get a gay waiter," Ryan confided in Troy as they followed the hostess. "Then we can make him jealous when he realizes the two hottest guys are off the market."

Troy just shook his head. "You probably just want that so you can tease Chad some more."

"Well, that, too," Ryan admitted, freely. Chad, who had heard his name mentioned but nothing else, cast a suspicious look at Ryan before turning back around as he followed the hostess, who finally led them to a booth in the back of the restaurant.

"Your server with be right with you," she said, before heading back up towards the front.

"No need to ask about the seating arrangements," Chad said, rolling his eyes before sliding into one of the booths. Troy sat across from him, and Ryan squashed in beside him. "But no playing footsie under the table. Or you're gonna regret it, Bolton."

"Hey, if I wanted to play footsie with Ryan, you'd never even realize it," Troy retorted. "I'm damned sneaky. _I'm_ not the one who mistook Zeke's leg for Taylor's."

"You what?" Ryan exclaimed. Chad was blushing furiously, his eyes staring daggers at Troy.

"You promised you wouldn't repeat that story ever again," Chad muttered, darkly. "Especially to Ryan. Everybody promised that."

"No, no, I've got to hear this," Ryan pleaded. Then his eyes sparkled. "Otherwise, I'll find out from Zeke or somebody. And if I have to do that, I'll make sure you regret it."

"Fine!" Chad surrendered, throwing up his hands. "You're gonna have to tell him, though, Troy. It's too humiliating for me."

Troy began to answer, but was interrupted by the server. To Ryan's disappointment, the server was an older female. After the boys had given her their drink orders, Troy started telling the story.

"I think it was around November of last year," Troy recalled. "I think you were absent that day, Ryan… I think that was when you had that ear infection."

"I can't believe I missed something like this," Ryan grumbled.

"Well, it was maybe a month or so before Taylor finally broke things off with Mr. Danforth here- which she almost had to shout, by the way, as he wasn't picking up any of her more subtle hints." Chad scowled at Troy. Grinning at his friend, Troy continued. "So to set this up, we were sitting in our usual seats. Taylor was sitting next to Zeke. On the opposite side of the table was Chad here, sitting close to Sharpay, with Kelsi in between." Ryan nodded, obviously remembering their old seating arrangements. Back in the days when Troy was still with Gabi, and Jason hadn't come between them, Ryan and Sharpay had joined them for lunch a few days a week. Sharpay had been reluctant at first, but Ryan had actually put his foot down and said that he wanted to eat lunch with this group of friends that had accepted him as one of them. And Sharpay wasn't about to be the odd person out.

"Why can't we just let this be?" Chad asked, hoping to be let off the hook. "It could've happened to anybody."

"Oh, no, Chad," Troy said, shaking his head. "This could only happen to you. So," Troy continued, his voice going back into story-mode, "Chad, who was trying to give Taylor a little attention, decided he'd run his foot over her leg. You know, just a slight movement, to see how she'd respond. Why he wanted to do this in the school cafeteria, I'll never know," said Troy, shaking his head.

"Tay had always said I never gave her enough attention when we were at school," Chad muttered. "So I thought I'd show her otherwise."

"I don't think that was what she had in mind," Troy responded. "But that doesn't really matter. Because the problem was, it wasn't Taylor's leg," Troy said, grinning. "She and Zeke were both wearing jeans, and I guess Chad got a little confused- you _did_ get confused, right Chad? I mean, you didn't do that on purpose, right?"

Chad, who had buried his head in his folded arms, responded simply by giving Troy the finger. Ryan, by this time, was smiling broadly.

"Well, Zeke was a little surprised at first," Troy continued. "But I guess he thought it was your sister who was doing it, since she was doing that on-again off-again shit with him. You really need to talk to her about that," Troy abruptly changed subjects. "All this ambiguous shit is driving him mad, and Zeke doesn't deserve that."

"Hey, I'm not my sister's keeper," Ryan protested, putting his hands up. "But she said last night that she was going to give Zeke a real shot, and I think she's gonna stick to that. Anyway, we'll deal with that later- finish the story!"

"Ok," Troy said, chuckling at the insistent tone in Ryan's voice. "Luckily, Chad realized what he was doing soon enough, when he realized that Taylor had just left the table, but the leg he was giving so much attention to… was still there. The look of horror on our Chad's face was priceless. Zeke still won't sit across the table from Chad, just to be safe." Ryan was laughing hard by this time, his pale face quite flushed.

"Man, Chad, you are definitely piling up the evidence," Ryan managed to get out, since he was having trouble catching his breath from all the laughter. "Are you _sure_ you don't have anything you want to tell us?"

"I hate you…" Chad said indistinctly, his words muffled by his arms.

"I can't believe Shar didn't tell me about that," Ryan said, still grinning.

"Well," Troy said, no longer grinning quite as much. "She sorta ruined the moment. No offence to your sister or anything." Troy shrugged, before continuing. "She got up from the table and told Zeke that he was a moron if he thought that she would ever do anything as common as that. I think she hurt his feelings a little bit."

"I remember that part of it," Ryan said, shaking his head. "Sorta. She came home all mad at Zeke, or whatever. She never gave me details, though- I would've remembered a story like this. Then didn't she avoid Zeke for a week or so after that?" Ryan said, grinning. "Then she got mad at me when I wouldn't sit with her at our old table every day. But I told her that even if she had problems with Zeke, that that didn't change the fact that you guys were my friends. So eventually she swallowed her pride and went back to sitting at our table." Ryan sighed. "Shar is my sister, and I love her and everything… but it's kinda annoying to have to always play peacemaker just because she's being irrational." Ryan began smiling impishly. "That was a great story, though, Troy. Chad, you're, like, my hero now. I always used to wish I could do that sorta thing to Troy, but I never had the courage to do it." He grinned wickedly at Troy, who just squeezed his hand.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Chad mumbled, his head still buried in his hands. then he sat up suddenly, an evil grin on his face. "Oh, so we're sharing embarrassing secrets now, eh?" Chad cast a quick look towards Troy, who groaned. "If we're doing that, why don't we talk about what happened when I visited Troy last December?"

"Oooo!" Ryan exclaimed. "Embarrassing stories about Troy? This, I've gotta hear!"

"Trust me, you don't want to hear it," Troy attempted to dissuade Ryan. "It involves Gabriella… and sex."

"Trust me, Troy," Ryan said, waving that comment off. "I'll be ok about the fact that it's about breeder sex, if this story is half as funny as Chad seems to think it is." Then he looked at Troy with a more serious look. "My sex life's an open book, as far as you're concerned," Ryan said, quietly. "I'm not going to hide anything like that from you."

"Umm…" Troy had no response to that. Leave it to Ryan to lay the guilt trip on him. Just then, the server finally came back with their drinks.

"Are you ready to order?" she asked, looking at the boys.

Troy shot a panicked look at Ryan; he'd been so occupied with telling the story, he hadn't even looked at the menu. Chad seemed to have realized the same thing, as well, as he'd hurriedly opened up his menu and was frantically scanning it.

"I think these two could use a little more time," Ryan said, smiling charmingly at the server. "But we would like the large bowl of Italian salad and three plates for starters. I'll make sure they're ready by the time you come back."

"I'll be back in a few," the server said, with a smile for Ryan. With that, she left, presumably to put their salad order into the system.

"There, I bought you some time," Ryan said, shaking his head at Troy and Chad. "But I'm not going to do it again. And don't think you're off the hook, either, Troy," he said, sternly. "I'm gonna hear this story after you order." Troy sighed, as Ryan dashed his hopes.

Just then, Chad threw up his hands in despair. "I don't know what to order," he said, defeated. "I have no idea if I would like any of this or not. I've never been here, before. I just always wanted to try it."

Troy half expected Ryan to start giving Chad a hard time about that, and indeed Chad seemed to be expecting it too, but instead Ryan began listing off a few of the dishes, asking Chad about what sort of things he liked. As Ryan and Chad debated over the best dish for Chad to order, Troy took the opportunity to watch his boyfriend, the boy's hands waving as he chatted amiably. Troy wasn't entirely sure how often he had this thought, but over and over it still seemed to surprise him that the slim blonde-haired boy had become such an integral part of Troy's life. Talking about that first night, that had become the beginning of their friendship, made Troy marvel that they'd even gotten close at all.

When they first started hanging out, it was in the company of friends. Troy would never have dreamed of actually calling Ryan up and asking if just the two of them could hang out. Now, apparently Troy couldn't even go a few hours without missing the blonde. What a difference even a few months made.

"Troy?" Troy blinked, as he caught sight of a pale hand waving in front of his face.

"I'm not asleep," Troy blurted out, automatically.

"I didn't say you were," Ryan said, an amused tone in his voice. "But you were definitely in la-la land. Do you know what you're gonna get?"

"Fettuccine Alfredo," Troy said, shrugging. "That's what I got last time I was here, a couple of months ago with my parents. That way, I know I'll like it."

"You don't want to try anything new?" Ryan asked, curiously. "I mean, the alfredo is good, but you've already gotten it before."

"Well, what do you suggest?" Troy said.

"I think you'd like this one," Ryan said, after considering it for a moment. He pointed towards the picture in the menu. "It has the fettuccine noodles that you like, but it's got a different flavour to it."

"I leave it in your hands," Troy said, smiling at his boyfriend. "If you think I'll like it, that's enough for me." Ryan looked gratified at the trust Troy was putting in him, gratified enough to kiss Troy on the cheek.

It was about then that Troy heard some gagging noises from across the table.

"Don't you two ever stop?" Chad said, pointedly. "I mean, I'm happy you guys are back together… but you two are way too lovey-dovey and shit for my tastes."

"You know, it's funny you should say that," Troy said, grinning. "Cuz I could've sworn you said, just the other night, that you thought we were cute together."

"Really? He said that?" Ryan asked. He actually looked touched, as far as Troy could tell.

"Yeah, he did," Troy said, nodding his head. "He also said he thought we were meant for each other."

"Chad, that's so sweet of you!" Ryan said, beaming at his curly-haired friend.

Chad looked disgusted at Troy. "I never said cute, Bolton. Chad Danforth doesn't use that word, at all. Especially not to describe his two friends who seem to be joined at the hip, nowadays." Chad folded his arms, petulantly. "Just cuz you're a pansy now, Bolton, doesn't mean I am."

"Fine," Troy said, grinning. "I stand corrected. Kelsi said cute, and you agreed with her. Your masculinity remains intact, even if you did play footsie with Zeke."

Chad opened his mouth to retort, but was forestalled by the return of their server, carrying three plates and their salad. Placing it on their table, she pulled out her serving pad.

"Have you decided what to order, yet?" she asked.

"We sure have," Ryan said, turning on the charm yet again. The three boys ordered their food quickly since, thanks to Ryan's help, they had finally figured out what they wanted.

"So, Chad," Ryan said, grinning. "Let's hear this embarrassing story about Troy." He was handing out the plates as he said that, and after he'd finished distributing them, Ryan began placing some of the Italian salad on his own plate.

"It's no big deal," Troy said, giving up on avoiding the story. It was obvious Ryan wasn't going to let this go, so at this point Troy was going for damage control. If he kept it short and downplayed some of it, he should be okay. Chad telling the story would've been a disaster, though- the dark haired boy always embellished it outrageously, as punishment for having to witness it.

"Chad decided to stop by one night, last December," Troy said, as he reached for the salad. "My parents weren't home, and we thought we'd watch some movies, drink some beer, whatever." Troy attempted to smile, though his face was a little red. He never dreamed he'd be discussing this sort of thing with his _boyfriend_. "But Gabi came over- her mom dropped her off. And apparently she was… in the mood- though I'll bet she didn't tell her mom about _that_." Troy coughed. "So, long story short…"

"Too late," Ryan and Chad chimed in together. Then they glanced at each other, and laughed.

"Ha fuckin' ha," Troy said, grumbling. "So Chad let himself in the house, six-pack in hand… and sorta caught us in the act."

"It was horrible," Chad said, with a shudder. "I never wanted to see Troy doing _that_. I walk in, and there they were, on the kitchen table, no less… that was waaay more of Troy than I ever wanted to see." Chad emphasized that last part with his fork, which still had a few pieces of lettuce attached to it. Ryan winced when some of the dressing dripped onto the table.

"What were you even doing on the kitchen table?" Ryan asked, looking equal parts horrified and fascinated. And now studiously avoiding watching Chad's eating habits. "I mean, it's bad enough you doing it on the table… but when you knew Chad was coming over? Are you an exhibitionist or something?" Then Ryan got a sly grin on his face. "Is this something we're gonna have fun with?"

Troy groaned. "No, I'm not… and I didn't think Gabi would be one, either. I tried to tell her about Chad coming over, but she acted like she didn't care. She said something like we'd better make it fast, or something along those lines. Then she, umm, distracted me… and it kinda slipped my mind." Troy made a face. "I think she actually found it kinda hot, the possibility of getting caught."

"Wow, Gabi and I actually have something else in common," Ryan said, idly. Troy sent him a shocked look, his eyes wide. "Troy! I'm kidding!" Ryan was laughing. "That is totally not my thing- luckily for Chad."

"I don't think I would survive a shock like that," Chad said, looking repulsed even by the thought. "Like I told Troy before you guys went on your first date… I'm okay with him dating you, but I don't want to see anything more than kissing."

"I can't make any promises about that," Ryan said, grinning at Chad. "Just being around Troy makes me want to do stuff to him. And now I feel compelled to top Gabi's performance, but in order to do that, you'll have to watch and compare, Chad."

"Hell… no…" Chad growled. Ryan just kept grinning.

Troy was giving Ryan a look of disbelief, as the blonde seemed just as unconcerned about things as before. Since they'd started dating, Troy had almost gone out of his way to avoid talking about his relationship with Gabi. It felt weird to talk to his new boyfriend about his old girlfriend.

"Yes, Troy?" Ryan asked, raising an eyebrow. Clearly he'd noticed enough of Troy's looks to realize that the brunette was thinking something.

"Nothing," said Troy, flushing. "I just always figured you didn't want me talking about when Gabriella and I were together. Seemed like it'd be inappropriate. Like it wouldn't mix?" He shrugged uncomfortably.

"So let me get this straight, no pun intended," Ryan said, trying to translate Troy-speak. "You think that I'd be offended if you talked about Gabi, even though I am well aware of your previous relationship. Back when you were with her, it seemed like it was all you could talk about, really. But now that we're together, suddenly we can't talk about it?"

"He probably figures you'll feel jealous or something," Chad said, trying to help Troy out. "Ex-girlfriend, new boyfriend. That sorta thing."

"Why would I feel jealous?" Ryan asked, puzzled. "I mean, please correct me if I'm wrong, but you want to be with me, right?" Troy nodded emphatically. "And you don't care about any previous boyfriends I've had, right?" Another nod. "And you're in love with me, yes?"

"I really am," Troy said, earnestly. Then he saw what Ryan was getting at. "Ok, you've made your point," Troy said, looking sheepish.

"That doesn't mean I want too much detail about your sexcapades," Ryan added. "I'm perfectly fine without hearing the detailed specifics of what crazy breeder things you used to do before you came to your senses and fell in love with me."

Troy gently shoved him, smiling at Ryan's comment. But then he couldn't help himself and brushed the pale boy's cheek with his hand. Troy was still at that stage in the relationship where he couldn't get enough of the other person, and he was constantly having to hold back when they were in public.

"Better watch yourself, Troy," Ryan said, shivering at Troy's gentle touch. "I may just decide to throw you down on this table right in front of Chad and have my way with you."

"Promises, promises," Troy teased back. Chad just groaned.

"It'll have to be a little later, though, cuz I've got to use the restroom," Ryan said, getting up from the table. "I've been drinking too much water."

"Don't take too long," Troy warned him. "Or Chad might put the moves on _me_."

Ryan just smiled and kissed Troy. "I'll be back soon." Troy watched Ryan's lithe form as he walked away.

"So, Troy, I've got to ask you this, just to make sure," Chad said, once Ryan was gone. "You two are good, right? Ryan's not just being an Evans and pretending he's okay just for my sake, right?"

"We're more than good," Troy assured him. "I could draw you some diagrams if you need further proof, though."

"You're definitely as bad as he is, now," Chad said, sighing. "I've lost you for good. Now you're so corrupted, if I showed you the picture of a hot chick, you'd just make a comment on her shoes or something."

"Hey, I'm not the melodramatic one, pal," Troy replied, smiling. "That's definitely you. And trust me, I'm just as clueless when it comes to fashion as I was before. I wish I had even a fraction of Ryan's fashion sense; he makes it look so easy."

"Well, no matter how gay he's made you now," Chad said. "What's important is you two fuckin' patched things up."

"Thought you didn't care," Troy replied, grinning.

"I care about my sleep," Chad shot back. "It's hard to sleep when you two keep calling me and asking me what to do. I mean, what the fuck do I know about these things?"

"Enough to bring me to my senses," Troy pointed out. "I didn't know what the fuck I was going to do; all I had would've been an 'I love you' that I'd convinced myself that I wasn't sure I meant. You helped me realize that I knew the answer all along. And I really appreciate it, Chad."

"We both appreciate it, Chad," Ryan said, as he slid back into his seat.

Chad just waved the both of them off. "It's no big deal," he said, dismissively. "It's what any friend would've done." He cleared his throat. "Change of subject, cuz Evans here looks like he's gonna get mushy about stuff, and I don't do mushy."

"That could be another reason why Taylor dumped you," Ryan observed, sagely. "Girls like mushy. They also like it when you don't take 'em for granted."

"Should I be taking notes?" Chad quipped. "After all, you've got a lot of experience with girls."

"Hey, haven't you ever learned anything from movie clichés?" Ryan asked, shrugged. "Gay guys always understand girls perfectly; that's why we always have straight girls as best friends." Then he grinned, evilly. "If you really want the inside scoop on girls, ask ole Troy over here. He was the one with the freaky brainiac girlfriend who liked to do it on kitchen tables."

Troy groaned. "You're not gonna let me forget that any time soon, are you?"

"Nope," Ryan said, mischievously. "So, Troy, give Chad your secrets, and he'll be all set. But then again, Chad, Troy had one of those kind of girls already, and now he's gay. So maybe you shouldn't chance it."

"Hey, it was the one time!" Troy was still protesting. "And she was really embarrassed about it the next day, too. The next time we did it, it was in her room, on her bed, with the door securely locked and the blinds closed."

"Being horny makes you do extreme things," Ryan said, nodding. "Crazy things, like having sex on your parents' dining table, or doing it in a convertible on the side of the road." Ryan's eyes held a satisfied look.

"Anyway," Troy said, coughing. Chad was already looking suspicious. "What else is new, Chad? When you're not counselling us on our love lives, what've you been up to?"

Chad shrugged. "Oh, you know, not much. I've been mowing a few lawns, here and there, whenever my cousin gives me a call. I'm trying to afford the tux I've got to rent for prom."

"Prom?" Troy asked, with a blank look.

Ryan elbowed him, as he shook his head. "You know, the old end-of-the-high-school-career rite of passage sorta thing? Everybody dresses up in uncomfortable suits or tuxes, and dances to music played by a DJ who simply pops in 'Prom Jams Vol. 3,' which is a compilation played at every single high school prom in the US. You know, prom?"

"I know what prom is," Troy replied, rolling his eyes. "I just completely forgot about it. Probably because it's being held so late, this year. Plus," Troy rolled his eyes, "I was planning on going with Gabi, once upon a time. Once we broke up, prom suddenly didn't seem like such a big deal."

"Well, it is now," Ryan said, firmly. "You're my date, so you've got to look your best. We'll get you a sharp-looking tuxedo that compliments mine."

"Yeah, you've got to make sure Troy looks good when he's crowned prom queen," Chad said, grinning. Troy didn't answer, but simply gave Chad the finger.

"So, Chad, are you inviting anybody special to prom?" Ryan asked. "Maybe a secret girlfriend that you've been keeping to yourself 'til just the right moment?"

Chad made a face. "I wish," he said, with a hint of sadness in his voice. "I'll probably just end up going stag and hanging out with you guys- when you're not dancing or molesting each other, that is." He gave them both a pointed look.

"Molesting each other?" Troy repeated, sounding outraged. "I'll probably end up spending the entire evening protecting Zeke from your wandering feet."

Chad glared at Troy and had his mouth open, ready to retort, when the server finally arrived with their food. Troy smiled innocently at Chad as their server placed large steaming plates of food in front of them.

"Let me know if you need anything else," she said, before heading off to check on another table.

The three boys were silent for a moment as they sampled their chosen entrées. And after Troy had taken his first bite, he was thankful he'd listened to Ryan's suggestion. The fettuccine alfredo he'd almost ordered was already forgotten.

"How's your food?" Ryan finally asked anxiously, after Troy had taken a few bites. "Is it… is it ok?"

"It's more than okay," Troy assured him, smiling. "Sorry for not saying that before, but I was too busy enjoying the food. I'm glad you convinced me to change my order; this is way better than what I was going to get." Troy skewered another portion with his fork. "Would you like a bite?"

"Yes, but this is a family establishment," Ryan said, grinning lasciviously. "So I guess I'll have to take a rain check on _that_. I _would_ like a taste of your food, though."

Troy ignored the look on Chad's face as he offered Ryan his fork. Ryan leaned in to accept the bite, with a look in his eyes that went straight to Troy's pants. In fact, the whole process was pretty erotic and intimate, far more than Troy would've thought. Maybe it was the bedroom eyes that Ryan was giving him. Troy had always thought that the whole supposed exchanging bites thing was kinda silly, not sexy, and whenever Gabi had suggested it, Troy had teased her about it. According to him, it seemed like something out of a cheap, tawdry romance movie. As a result, though, Troy had never found himself in the position that he was now in. As Ryan leaned forward, he placed his hand lightly on Troy's forearm, and just before his mouth closed over the small bite, Ryan shut his eyes. At this point, even if Troy had wanted to, he found himself unable to look away. In fact, it was becoming a greater and greater possibility that Troy was going to suggest another tandem shower.

"You're right," Ryan said, finally opening his eyes. "It _is_ good." He licked his lips slowly, tantalizingly. "We'll have to compliment the chef."

"I'd offer you another bite, but I'm not sure I'd be able to control myself," Troy replied hoarsely. At the very least, his trousers wouldn't be able to handle it.

"Hello!" growled an indignant Chad. "Sitting here. Sitting _right_ here, in fact."

"We weren't doing anything," Ryan protested. "This definitely doesn't cross the 'nothing past first base rule.'"

"Dude, you two were eye-raping each other and you know it," Chad said, rolling his eyes. "Seriously, Ryan, just because I support you two… It doesn't mean that I'm comfortable with this sort of thing. Whether it's you two or any other gay couple… it's just kinda weird for me."

"Oh my God, I am so sorry, Chad," Ryan exclaimed, sounding completely sincere. Troy chimed in with his apology, through a mouthful of food. "You're being a great friend, and we'll try to dial it down a notch or two. I can totally understand where you're coming from, too- I was never all that comfortable watching Troy and Gabi making out in front of me. And I _know_ I don't like even the thought of watching Zeke make out with my sister." Ryan shrugged. "I think it's just the fact that Troy and I've only been dating two weeks, and this is really the first day we can be ourselves in public."

"That's true," Troy replied, thoughtfully. "That first week, I wasn't out to anybody but my closest friends, and last week I was being stupid and sending mixed messages- I don't blame you for avoiding my ass," Troy added, directing that last bit towards Ryan.

"But what a nice ass it is," Ryan responded immediately. "Sorry, Chad, I couldn't resist that. I'll try to watch what I say."

"As long as you keep the comments non-graphic and the groping to a minimum, I can cope," Chad said, shrugging.

"Then, in that case, I'm kissing Troy," Ryan announced. "Since we now have official permission from Mr. Chad Danforth. I'd like the record to reflect that, as well." Chad stuck his tongue out, but Ryan affected to ignore that as he pulled an unresisting Troy into a kiss. It was a tame one- for them, at least- but as they slowly broke apart Chad was looking pointedly away.

"I said I was okay with it," Chad said, still looking away. "Doesn't mean I want to watch."

"Fair enough," Ryan acknowledged, nodding. Troy just smiled as he took a drink a drink of his water. "But we're done now, so you don't have to look away anymore."

"Thanks," Chad said, sarcastically. "Fuck!" he suddenly exclaimed as he was turning back. "Troy! It's Aunt Margo!"

Troy had promptly begun choking on his water, as it went down the wrong pipe. Ryan thumped him on the back, but Troy's attention, once he'd finished coughing, was on the approaching figure with the shocked look on her face. Aunt Margo, a sturdy-looking woman, had never been Troy's favourite relative, and was also one of the last people he would've told about his new relationship.

"Troy… Alexander… Bolton," Aunt Margo ground out, looking equal parts shocked and disgusted. "I demand you explain yourself!"

Troy had always expected an uphill battle when it came to explaining things to his relatives, most of which had already made it clear that they weren't okay with homosexuals, for a variety of reasons. And Troy had spent a sleepless night or two wondering when and how he was going to come out to them, especially Grandpa Bolton and Nana, his maternal grandmother. Luckily, though, Aunt Margo was not one of those people that Troy actually cared about gaining their approval. To put it bluntly, Troy didn't give a damn about what Aunt Margo thought about him. So, far more calm than he might have been if it had been some of his other relatives, Troy replied.

"It's awfully good to see you, Aunt Margo," Troy said, smiling cheerily at her. "You know Chad already, don't you? And this is Ryan Evans, my boyfriend. Ryan, this is my aunt, Margo Bolton." Troy had found that being über-polite to Aunt Margo usually threw her off.

"Pleased to meet you, ma'am," Ryan said, pleasantly. Though Troy could tell he was surprised that Troy was so composed. Ryan held out his hand to her, as if being introduced to your previously-straight boyfriend's freaked-out relatives was something he did every day.

Margo, for her own part, looked at Ryan's hand, repulsed. As if even being in close proximity of it offended her. Troy wanted to protest on his boyfriend's behalf, but Ryan didn't look at all annoyed as he withdrew his hand.

"Boyfriend?!" Aunt Margo sputtered. "Since when? And how?" She seemed unable to formulate any sort of coherent argument, she seemed that stunned.

"Oh, you know how it is, Ms. Bolton," Ryan replied, easily, taking his cue from Troy's own unconcerned attitude. "It's the same old story, boy meets boy, boy falls in love with boy. Troy asked me out, and how could I say no? He's such a charming boy." He smiled winningly at Aunt Margo. And then at the young girl who had silently walked over to stand beside her. "And is this your daughter?"

Aunt Margo looked apoplectic at the audacity that Ryan was displaying just by talking to her. No doubt, Troy figured, she had little experience with somebody who was unashamedly gay. That left the rest of the introductions to Troy.

"This is my cousin, Alice," Troy said, using his hand to indicate the young girl. "She's nine years old. Alice, this is Chad, and over here is…"

"Say no more, young man!" Aunt Margo seemed to have recovered, drawing herself up frostily. "I will not have you introducing my daughter to that, that…"

"Aunt Margo, I respect you," Troy said politely yet firmly. A little white lie, but a necessary one. After all, it wouldn't do to have a shouting match in the middle of Olive Garden. "But I'll thank you not to finish that statement. I'm afraid I don't take too well to people who speak to my boyfriend like that."

"Well, I never," Aunt Margo snapped. "I don't like the tone of your voice, young man. I think I'll have to have a talk with Jack and his wife. I can't see how he could support this."

"My father loves me," Troy replied, shrugging. "When it comes down to it, he just wants me to be happy. And though he's still struggling with it, Dad knows that Ryan makes me happy."

Aunt Margo looked surprised at Troy's calm statement, and seemed unable to come up with a decent response. Putting her arm around her daughter's shoulders, she firmly led her away from the boys' table.

"Wow," Chad said, after she was no longer within earshot. "Aunt Margo seems to have gotten even more waspish since the last time I saw her. Three years definitely wasn't long enough."

Troy shrugged. "The years have made her bitter," he said, picking up his fork again. "She wasn't happy when I was with Gabi, either; said I should've hooked up with Sharpay for her money and connections."

"Your aunt does seem to be a little hostile towards you," Ryan said, looking a little confused. "For that matter, I wasn't picking up a whole lot of affection on your part, either."

"There really isn't," Troy explained, after he'd swallowed some of his food. "She hasn't liked me since before I was even born. There was some sort of drama back in the day when my parents first got married; something about bridesmaids' dresses and who was going to be maid of honour. Mom didn't really know Aunt Margo, except as dad's older sister. And what little she knew of her, wasn't very favourable. So she picked her best friend to be the maid of honour, and somehow Aunt Margo took offense to that. And I never really found out one way or the other, but the appearance of the dresses was another sore point, too. So my aunt still hasn't gotten over that, and she's just coldly civil to my mother." Troy chuckled. "Mom doesn't really worry about it, too much- it means Margo doesn't call that often, and Mom doesn't have to hear about her many problems. Which, in case you hadn't guessed yet, are mainly self-inflicted."

"So she doesn't like you because of your mom?" Ryan asked. "That's kinda… weird."

"Well, it's that, plus…" Troy said, slowly. He didn't like tooting his own horn too much. "I _have_ had some success in basketball and now singing. I think that my aunt was hoping that I wouldn't amount too much, so she could feel justified in her disapproval of my mom. Margo really isn't the nicest of relatives."

"Dude, seriously," Chad said, nodding fervently. "She'll try to find fault in anybody associated with Troy, too. She said a few years ago that Zeke and I looked like hoodlums."

"So shouldn't she be happy to hear that you're gay, Troy?" Ryan asked, still looking confused. "Wouldn't she think that she was right, after all these years?"

"I'm sure part of her feels like that," Troy said, in an amused voice. "But the rest of her is recoiling at the idea that I'm gay. In her book, homosexuals are one of the worst things in the world, next to democrats and those horrible neighbours of hers that she positively knows are talking bad about her behind her back." Troy shrugged. "And knowing Margo, they probably _are _talking about her. Especially after Alice's father left because he couldn't deal with Aunt Margo any more.

"So you really don't care if Aunt Margo knows about us," Ryan said, finally smiling as he caught on. "Cuz you really don't care what she thinks about you, do you?"

"Actually, her disapproval makes me feel all warm inside," Troy said, grinning. "It's a pretty good rule of thumb that whatever is good for you is what Margo doesn't like."

"In that case, I feel happy about that," Ryan replied, immediately. "Because it was pretty obvious that she despises me. So that must mean I'm really good for you."

"You sure are," Troy said, nodding.

"Hopefully she won't bother us again," Chad said, fervently, as he nodded towards the table where Margo and her daughter were eating. Margo had apparently changed seats with Alice, as she was no longer facing them. "I, for one, would like to eat this awesome food."

The rest of the meal was, indeed, more or less uneventful, as Troy and Chad recounted some of Margo's waspish observations over the years. From there, talk moved on to some of Troy's other relatives, including his Great-uncle Franklin, who, upon first seeing the newborn Troy, had mistakenly called him a girl.

"So, do you want to do anything else?" Chad said as the three exited the restaurant. "I'm not really in the mood to go back home, yet."

"How about the mall?" Ryan suggested. "After all, we're right here."

"Mall sounds like fun," Troy said, his arm already around Ryan's waist. "Let me just call my parents and let 'em know I'll be later than I said."

"Just don't get too graphic, Troy," Ryan said, grinning. "They probably don't need to know about the detour we're gonna take on the way home."

As Troy grinned and pulled out his cell phone, he could hear Chad groaning in the background, probably regretting ever agreeing to lunch with them. The only thing Troy was worried about was the day when Chad got a girlfriend and turned the tables on them. Then things could get interesting.

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So, I hope you enjoyed after the long wait!

Tell me what you thought of it, and stay tuned for Chapter 22, Reasons Why Nobody Wants to Play Mini-Golf with Troy. Same bat time, same bat channel!

Squall


	22. Reasons Why Nobody Plays Golf with Troy

A/N: Oh, God, I'm not even sure what day it is anymore… Work is sucking, and I'm not sure whether time is elapsing or I'm stuck in a Groundhogs Day sorta time loop. But I found a little time to write the last portion of this chapter, before I work more shifts at work and visit my cousin, who will be giving birth, seriously, in a handful of hours.

Here's something I neglected to mention last time, due to being tired and rushing to finish the chapter… A good portion of the last chapter, and a not insignificant portion of this chapter was written at work, in my downtime. I use a clipboard at work, and when I'm not doing my job, I wrote a few more lines. Then did some more work, and wrote a few more lines. The entire Ryan/Troy food tasting scene was written at that time, as I recall. I can't remember what else was written then… So know that I never forget about my story, or about you, my loyal readers!

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

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Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 22 - Reasons Why Nobody Wants to Play Mini-Golf with Troy

"Are there any particular shops you'd like to go to?" Troy asked Ryan, whose hand was once again attached to Troy's own. The three boys had just entered the mall, and were just walking in a random direction. Troy's mom had told him that he could stay out a while, as long as he was home by dinner. Troy had immediately resolved to spend every moment until then in the company of his boyfriend- unless one of them had to use the bathroom, of course.

"Clothing stores, of course," Ryan responded, automatically. Chad groaned, and Troy only barely kept back his own groan. "But that's not something I'm going to subject Chad to; he'd get bored really fast."

"What about me?" Troy protested. "Don't my feelings get taken into consideration?"

"Troy, you're dating me," Ryan said, pointedly. "That means that clothing stores are going to be a large part of your future. Consider yourself lucky that I'm not going to invite Shar on these shopping trips, too; she takes twice as long as me." Ryan suddenly grinned. "But consider how much fun we can have in the fitting rooms, though."

"Oh, you should've said something about that, before," Troy said, smiling too. "Otherwise, I would've-" Troy suddenly broke off, looking intently off to the side.

"What is it, Troy?" Chad asked, looking confused. "What did you see?"

"It's trouble at the old mill," Ryan promptly replied. "Timmy's stuck down that damned well again."

Troy rolled his eyes, as he looked back towards the other two. "It's nothing," he said. "It just felt like we were being followed, for a bit… and I thought I saw Cross. Must've been just my imagination."

"Who cares if Cross is here or not?" Ryan said, sounding unconcerned. "If this truce thing of yours works, we won't be troubled by him again."

"Evans is right," Chad said. "Besides, if he's looking to cause trouble, he isn't going to last long. I'd love an excuse to beat his ugly face in."

"How about mini-golf?" Troy suggested, changing the subject. "It's been a while since we've played that."

"That's because you always win," Chad groused. "And you're insufferable for the next few days." Then Chad grinned. "Not that you're sufferable on your best days…"

"Come on," Troy coaxed them. "Let's play. You two can play as a team, and for each hole, whoever gets the lower score, that's the one we'll record. See? That way even if one of you messes up on the hole, that won't matter as much. But if I mess up, I'm stuck with my score."

Ryan and Chad looked at each other for a moment, before they nodded and turned back to Troy. "Deal," Ryan said, smiling at Troy. "But one more condition; you have to help me with my form for the first few holes. I still suck at golf, and I'll need all the help I can get."

"You got it," Troy said, grinning. "But you realize that means I'll have to stand right behind you to correct your stance, right?" Ryan's smirk was answer enough. "Then off we go… to the Mini-golf course!" Troy proclaimed, melodramatically as he pointed off into the direction of the course.

"Goof," Ryan said, affectionately, as he put his arm around Troy's waist and laid his head against Troy's shoulder.

The mini-golf course was located inside the mall, not too far away from the food court, and was a favourite haunt of Troy's when he could get somebody to play with him. It was all done up with day-glo and black lights, and, in Troy's own opinion, it looked fuckin' awesome.

As it was a Saturday afternoon, the golf place was doing quite a brisk business, but the three boys didn't have to wait too long until they found themselves standing at the first green, clubs in hand. Chad had been elected to go first, and he stepped up to the green, placing his day-glo orange golf ball on the rubber matting that served as a tee of sorts.

"My old nemesis, Mr. Windmill," Chad said, barely audible to the other two boys. "We meet again, at last. Too long have you ruined my chances at beating Troy by giving me a score that was way above par. But no more! I shall have my revenge!"

"Chad, I'm sure the windmill feels probably cowed in the face of your superiority," Ryan said, rolling his eyes. "But the people behind us would probably like to go, some time today. Let's just putt the ball, shall we?"

"Fine," Chad said, realizing that there were indeed people waiting for them to finish. He got ready, watching the windmill with a practiced eye. Then he hit the ball with his putter, with enough force to get it past the windmill. Unfortunately, his aim was off, and the ball bounced off the inside of the windmill. After ricocheting a few more times inside the archway, the ball slowly rolled out on the other side of the windmill.

"No!" Chad cursed, looking frustrated. "Why can't I just hit it straight through? Why must I always mess up on this damned windmill?!"

"Hey, at least you didn't hit the windmill arms like you always used to do," Troy observed, reasonably. "And you always make up for it on the castle; I _always_ get a lousy score on that one." Then Troy gestured grandly with his arms. "Mr. Evans, I believe it's your turn, now."

"Alright," Ryan said, dubiously. He got his own neon blue golf ball ready and got into position.

"Here, Ryan," Troy said, standing directly behind Ryan. "Spread your legs a little more." Chad snickered at Troy's unintended innuendo. "And widen your grip a little more." Troy put his arms around Ryan, guiding his hands into the proper position. "Then when the windmill arm passes by, hit it with a firm stroke."

"You may have to back up a little," Ryan said directly into Troy's ear. "Because right now golf is the last thing on my mind."

Troy chuckled and backed away, respecting Ryan's wishes. Because, truth be told, he had been encountering the same problem as Ryan when he had been pressed up against the smaller blonde. Ryan stood there a determined expression on his face, eyeing the small opening and the spinning windmill. With a steady stroke, he hit the ball, which went right for the centre of the small archway. Unfortunately, it also went right for the spinning windmill arm. It bounced off, started rolling back towards them, and finally came to a stop at Ryan's feet.

Troy took one look at Ryan's crestfallen expression and pulled him into a hug. "Give it another go," he found himself saying, never mind the fact that he was actually competing against the boy and Chad. "We won't count this one."

"How come you never give me another chance?" Chad demanded. "You always tell me, too bad."

"You start rounding the bases with Troy, and he'll change his tune," Ryan said, with a waggle of his eyebrows. "But we'll count my first try, anyway. Chad's right, it wouldn't be fair." With that, Ryan placed the ball back on the rubber mat, and prepared to hit it again. "This time I'm gonna watch that damned windmill arm." Ryan waited, and this time hit it right through the windmill, sending it right past Chad's own ball.

"That's it!" Troy said, almost happier than if he'd made a hole in one himself. Ryan sent him a warm smile, clearly appreciative. Troy placed his own golf ball into position, and began lining his putter. His ball was the neon pink one, which Troy had immediately claimed with a grin. Ryan hadn't said anything about it, yet, but Troy could tell that the blonde had been amused when he'd chosen it.

Troy hit his own ball with a sturdy swing, and thus the game resumed. Despite Chad's whining about Troy always having an unfair advantage, the dark-skinned boy was actually a fairly good golfer, and the two stayed fairly even in score. As for Ryan… well, he was trying. Troy could even see how the blonde had the potential to be a decent golfer given enough practice and guidance. In the meantime, though, only God knew where that neon blue ball was going to end up after Ryan's swing- Troy sure didn't. Troy had tried to help the boy a few times, standing behind him to guide him. But Ryan kept getting distracted by Troy's close proximity, and his swinging started getting even more erratic. In the end, the boys had conceded the point that Troy was only hindering things, and Ryan ended up putting by himself. One time it would be a putt that was too soft and the ball wouldn't go far enough. Then, naturally, the next time, Ryan would hit it extra hard, and the ball would go flying right past the hole. And each time, Troy would just smile comfortingly at Ryan, and the blonde's obvious frustration would disappear.

"I always liked this one," Troy said, watching Ryan send his ball flying on the fourth hole. "This one, I can get a hole-in-one if I do it right. Just the right aim, and it'll go right over the hill in the middle and roll right into the hole." Troy mimicked his putting as Ryan's ball finally came to a stop.

"You think you're so good," Chad said, grinning. "Expert on every hole, and calm under pressure. I bet nothing could distract you from your game, huh?"

"Nothing," Troy agreed, absently. He was busy surveying the green, verifying the position of Chad's ball. Chad, who was almost as familiar with the course as Troy, had hit his into excellent position.

Troy set his pink ball down, and got ready. He was staring intently at the green, so intently that he didn't notice Chad and Ryan grinning behind his back. Troy began his backswing, and was about to hit the ball when his ass was suddenly grabbed. He let out a rather girly squeal as the ball went whizzing away, charting a path more suited to his boyfriend's unpractised putting than to the consummate professional he had claimed to be.

"Hey!" Troy exclaimed. "That's cheating!"

"He did it," Ryan said, automatically, pointing at Chad. "He wanted to see if you were as unflappable as you say you are. So he finally did what he's always wanted to do."

"Oh, no you don't," Chad said, defensively. "I just said, see if you can distract Troy. I never said grab his ass."

"While we're arguing about this, can't we discuss how I should get another turn?" Troy pleaded. "That wasn't fair, at all."

"Hey, I made a bet with you," Chad replied, shrugging. "You claimed that you wouldn't let anything distract you, and you lost. Deal with it, Bolton."

"Fine," Troy said, pouting.

"Oh, Troy," Ryan said, affectionately. He briefly kissed him on the lips, in apology. "Is that a little better?"

"It's a start," Troy said, plaintively. "As long as there's more, later."

"That, I can handle," Ryan said, grinning. Chad just shook his head at them, and walked over to his ball to play his turn. And the game continued on.

Before long, Troy found himself gazing at his own dreaded enemy, the castle. This was actually Troy's favourite hole on his course; the castle had a few different 'gates' that he could hit the ball through, and choosing the right one could mean the difference between a hole-in-one and a bogey. But the best one was also the hardest to hit, and if Troy missed it his ball would go into the 'moat,' and that sure wouldn't do his score any good. Troy still liked it, though- it was one of the most original mini-golf ideas he'd seen.

Chad had already gone, with his ball in good position after hitting his target gate. Ryan, whose ball had, of course, ended up in the 'moat,' still looked cheerful as he stood next to Chad.

Troy looked determined as he eyed the best gate.

"Troy Bolton is a favourite to win the Albuquerque Open, and he is certainly on top of his game, today," Ryan said in a quiet voice, sounding an awful like one of those damned annoying golf commentators, in Troy's opinion. "We're at the sixth hole, as Troy attempts to make this putt. Wind is negligible, and the green is dry."

"But what you have to remember, Ryan, is that Mr. Bolton has struggled at the sixth hole before. His window of opportunity here is small, and a slip here could cost him the hole," Chad said, in his own golf commentator voice.

"Would you two stop it?" Troy asked, exasperated. "I'm trying to concentrate here." The two grinned at him, but kept silent. Troy slowly lined up his putter, and swung. The ball rolled towards his target gate, but Troy could already tell that he hadn't hit it square on, and the ball missed the gate and went into the 'moat.'

"Oooh, that mistake's gonna cost him," Ryan commented. "This could blow the entire contest wide open." Troy just mock-scowled at him before the three went to find their golf balls.

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"What's the score?" Troy said, as the three approached the eighth hole. This one had a volcano, with orange day-glo paint all over it to signify lava, in the middle of it, with the green on either side.

"You're two strokes ahead of us, Troy," Ryan said, after checking the score card. "Damn; Chad, you're gonna have to win this thing; you know I'm not going to be able to."

"I'll try," Chad said, lining up his ball. He hit it, and it rolled to a stop next to the volcano. "I didn't hit it hard enough," sighed Chad, shaking his head.

"My turn," Ryan announced, placing his own ball down. "So, what's the trick to this one, Troy?"

"See that wall on the side?" Troy said, pointing to it with his putter. "If you hit it at the right angle, and if you hit it hard enough, it'll ricochet off, hit that wall over there, and you'll be at the hole. I've gotten this one in two or three strokes, before. Or, if you're Chad, it'll take five or six."

"I hope not," Chad said, grimacing. "Me and Ryan can still win this if I get a good score on this one and the next hole."

"Ryan and I," Ryan said, automatically.

"Whatever," Chad said, shrugging. "You knew what I meant."

Ryan lined himself up to hit the ball at the angle that Troy had pointed out to him. Troy could tell already that his mention of hitting it hard enough had not been lost on Ryan, and the blonde looked like he was prepared to clobber that ball.

Ryan gave an almighty swing, and sent his blue golf ball flying towards that wall. It ricocheted off of the wall, and, to Troy's shock and joy, it looked like it had bounced off the right way. Ryan's ball was still going, however, and bounced off the next wall, losing momentum. But it kept rolling… straight for the hole. For a second Troy thought it was going to stop right at the edge of the hole, but it went that extra inch or two… and dropped right in.

"Fuck yeah!" Chad crowed, as it sank in that Ryan, the amateur mini-golfer, had just gotten a hole-in-one. Ryan stood there, looking completely flabbergasted. He even dropped his putter, before throwing his hands up in the air in celebration.

"Yeah!" Ryan was ecstatic, and Troy was just as happy as he rushed over to hug his boyfriend, even lifting him up slightly in his enthusiasm.

"Great job, babe!" Troy said, thrilled beyond belief.

"I thought you were the competition," Ryan teased, wrapping his own arms around Troy.

"That's just temporary," Troy said, finally putting his boyfriend back on the ground. "After this, it's just you and me, all the way."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Ryan said, smiling gently. "And I'll say right now… I was never a huge fan of words like 'babe' or 'honey…' but I like it when _you_ call me that. It makes me feel… special."

"Gag alert," Chad said, poking Troy with his golf club. "Bolton, hit the damn ball… Those three guys behind us look really annoyed, and it's probably because we're holding them up."

Troy looked back, and saw the three guys, teenagers by the look of them. They did look annoyed, like Chad said, but their gaze also seemed like it contained an undercurrent that Troy really didn't like. He turned back around, trying to shake the feeling. It was time to get a hole-in-one to maintain his lead.

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"Here's the clincher," Chad said, whistling. "The last hole. The end to our epic struggle. The…"

"Ok, Chad, we get the point," Troy interrupted. "Just go, already."

"Fine," Chad said, teeing up his ball. Hitting it with a medium amount of force, it rolled towards the ninth and final hole, but stopped maybe two-thirds of the way there. "Damn," he cursed. "Foiled again. You'd better make yours count, Evans- we're tied with Troy right now. And if we win, we'll get the free game."

"Yes, sir," Ryan mock-saluted, before taking his own turn. His confidence had been boosted by his unbelievable performance on the last hole. That, however, was not reflected in his putt, which sent the ball off into the corner. "Damn."

"It's fine, Ryan," Troy said, soothingly. His own putt was much better than Ryan's, but only made it a few inches past Chad's own ball.

"Alright!" Chad grinned as he got into position. "If I make this putt, and you miss yours, we'll win, after all!" He aimed his putter carefully, trying to figure out the best way to hit the ball into the hole. The designers had used a lot of day-glo paint to create the impression that the hole was in fact the mouth of a dragon rising up through the ground, and the fact that the last hole of a mini-golf was the one that collected everybody's golf ball made the mouth seem rather appropriate.

"Victory shall be ours!" Chad vowed, still sizing up the hole, and at this point Troy wouldn't have been surprised to see his dark-skinned friend actually checking the wind direction for this rather windless indoor course.

"If he makes this putt through the dragon, he'll win a free game," Ryan murmured to Troy, back to his golf commentator voice. "It has been a long-fought battle in the Albuquerque Open, but we may be seeing a winner emerge right here."

Finally finished with his preparations, Chad hit the ball with a firm, steady stroke. It was a good putt, and it looked to be going the right way towards the hole… but as the three boys watched, it passed to the left of it and continued rolling. Chad collapsed to his knees, covering his face in his hands.

"Better luck next time, Chad," Troy said, smirking. He gestured towards Ryan. "Unless Ryan can defy the laws of physics, somehow, you guys are going down."

"Is that what you really want, Troy?" Ryan asked, with a certain look in his eye. "You should've just said so; we could've just stayed home."

"Hit the ball, Evans," Chad said, blushing. "Also, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear any of the disturbing sex talk."

Ryan grinned as he got ready to putt. "I don't even know why I'm bothering," he said, shaking his head. "I don't think even you could sink this shot from here, Troy." But he swung anyway, and while his golf ball didn't even come close to the hole, it was at least in decent position.

"Here we go," Troy said, grinning. "Game shot." And with a confident swing of the club, Troy's ball rolled smoothly into the hole. Troy pumped his fist in triumph, à la Tiger Woods. "That's another win for Troy Bolton, and the crowd goes wild!" Troy started making crowd noises with his mouth, arms upraised, as Chad folded his arms, sulkily.

"I see why Chad never wants to play mini-golf with you," Ryan observed, watching Troy with a raised eyebrow. "You're an even worse winner than Chad is a loser. But is it really that wise to antagonize the guy you're dating? After all, I control whether you get any… at all, this week," he added, pointedly.

Troy immediately lowered his hands, a look of contrition crossing his face. He smiled innocently at Ryan and Chad, shrugging as if to forget his previous behavior.

"Good job, though, Troy," Ryan said, giving Troy a peck on the cheek. "You'll definitely have to teach me how to golf this summer."

"Yeah, I bet there'll be a _lot_ of teaching being done, then," Chad muttered. "Remind me to avoid the course this summer." Chad squared his shoulders. "Might as well finish up the game, though, even though we didn't win, Ryan." The two soon sunk their own balls into the hole, the dragon's mouth claiming two more golf balls.

qpqp

"Another free game for the collection," Troy said, looking at the ticket he'd been handed by one of the attendants as the three of them walked out into the mall proper.

"How did they know you were the winner?" Ryan asked, sounding a little confused.

"They didn't, really," Troy said, shrugging. "But if three or more people play, they hand one of these out once you're done. It's supposed to be for the winner, but there's nothing preventing me from doing… this!" With that, Troy grandly presented the free ticket to Ryan. "Now you have the free game, as well as free instruction from a golf pro such as myself."

Ryan accepted the ticket, shaking his head ruefully. "Thanks, but I don't know why you'd give it to me; watching my horrible golf game once wasn't enough for you?"

"Anything to let me spend more time with you," Troy said, in a lower voice, taking Ryan's hand in his own.

"How does ice cream sound?" Chad asked, looking at the other two. "I've probably got to head home soon, but I can stick around a little bit longer."

"We could head towards the ice cream shop," Troy replied, thoughtfully. "That way, if we see anything interesting on the way, we can always stop."

The three boys began walking towards the Cold Stone Creamery, stopping from time to time to point out things in the various shop windows as they passed by.

They finally reached the small shop that specialized in the kind of novelty shirts that comprised the bulk of Chad's wardrobe.

"Here's the shirt he bought you, Troy," Ryan pointed out, as the three stopped to look at the different shirts. "Oh, that reminds me," Ryan said, turning directly towards Troy. "I never told you on Monday, but I thought that was sweet of you to wear that shirt, Troy. Sweet, and really brave."

Troy blushed. He'd intended it to be a peace offering, even though it had failed in that particular respect. And he'd felt conspicuously out of place the entire day. Going from being a completely closeted jock on Friday to being completely out on Monday was a big deal. And he couldn't stand the looks he'd been given all day.

"Here's a new one," Chad said, holding out another shirt for Troy and Ryan to see. It was a black shirt that had a rainbow on it, as well as the words 'Taste My Rainbow' written on it. "This wasn't here last week."

"Why, Chad," Ryan said, looking surprised. "If you wanted me to taste your rainbow, you should've just said so."

"Hey, stop it, Chad," Troy scolded him, stepping behind Ryan and putting his arms around the blonde's waist. "Get your own boyfriend, and stop trying to steal mine."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I want," Chad said, rolling his eyes. "Dating an Evans? I'll pass on that."

"Hey, don't knock it till you try it," Troy said, holding Ryan tighter against him. "It took me a while to get used to it, but now I couldn't imagine being with anybody else."

"Gag," Chad succinctly replied. "That may be okay for you, but I wouldn't be able to deal with it. Sorry, Ryan, no offence, but you are way too high-maintenance for me."

"High-maintenance?" Ryan protested. "That is so my sister." He turned his head towards Troy. "Tell him, Troy. Defend my honour."

Troy shrugged. "He has a point, babe. You _are_ high-maintenance." Ryan made a protesting sound, and tried to squirm out of Troy's arms. "But you've got a cute arse, so that makes up for it."

"I beg your pardon!" Ryan said, pulling out of Troy's grip. "You're a meanie, Troy Bolton. I am _not_ just a piece of meat!" He stuck his tongue out at Chad and Troy. "I am so leaving your ass here, for that comment." Ryan started backing up, still talking to Chad and Troy. "I have feelings, you know. I'm going to find a boyfriend who appreciates me more."

Troy opened his mouth to apologize, or tease Ryan some more- he wasn't completely sure which thing was going to come out- but he suddenly noticed that his still raving boyfriend was walking backwards… right into a passer-by holding a Starbucks cup, a guy who looked to be around their own age.

"Ryan, watch-" and with that, Ryan collided right into the guy. -out." The teen was moving at a good clip, and Ryan was a rather slender boy. As a result, Ryan bounced right off him and Troy rushed to catch him.

"I'm so sorry," Ryan said, as he turned around to face the guy from within Troy's protective grasp.

"Watch where you're fuckin' going, fag," the guy said, looking extremely pissed off. "You almost fuckin' spilled my coffee."

Troy wasn't entirely sure how he did it, but he did remember that he had been standing behind Ryan making sure the boy didn't fall to the mall floor. Now he found himself standing in front of Ryan, protectively, and Chad was flanking him on the other side.

"Want to fuckin' say that again, punk?" Chad asked, acting extremely belligerent. "You got a problem with gay guys?"

"I got a problem with them with they don't fuckin' look where they're going," he replied, rolling his eyes. "So if your boyfriend here bumps into me, yeah, I've got a problem with him."

"It was just an accident," Troy said, trying to be reasonable. The rest of him was screaming for revenge. Nobody messed with his blonde. Nobody. "That doesn't give you the right to start flingin' the insults around."

"Why shouldn't I?" the guy sneered. "Do you really think everybody else wants the two of you doing your perverted shit in the mall? Or on the golf course?"

"You were one of the guys behind us," Ryan said, coming to a realisation. "Weren't you?" The look on the teen's face was answer enough.

"So that's what this is?" Troy demanded. "You homophobes can't stand us, so you're gonna follow us and try to beat the crap out of us? You should've brought your other two friends." Troy cracked his knuckles, as he looked challenging at the man.

The guy snorted. "I've got fuckin' better things to do with my time than that sorta thing. You're not even worth it. If this fag here hadn't bumped into me, I wouldn't even still be here."

"Fine," Ryan said, folding his arms, disgusted. "Then go on your way. We've got better things to do than cross words with a homophobe like you."

"But-" Troy protested. He wanted to give this guy a piece of his mind. Then a few punches. Maybe a kick or two.

"Troy, it's fine. Let's just go," Ryan said, firmly. Troy nodded slowly, before backing up a step to clasp Ryan's hand in his own, to prove a point to the asshole. The guy just sneered, before joining the crowd passing through the busy mall.

"Listen, I know you don't like fighting, but giving into these people just encourages them," Chad said after the guy walked away, as he frowned. "That's how it is- if you don't stand up to the bullies, they'll keep bullying you. Don't you get that?"

"No, Chad, it's you who doesn't get it," Ryan tersely replied, pulling his hand from Troy's to look at both of them in turn. "Do you know how many people like that are in this world? Tons. Do you know how often I get dirty looks, or rude comments, just because I'm rather flamboyant? That guy wasn't the first, and he sure as hell won't be the last."

"Not at school, though, right?" Troy asked, hopefully, trying to keep up with Ryan's diatribe. "I thought we showed everybody that nobody messes with you and gets away with it."

"No, Troy," Ryan said, wearily, but with a tone of patience. "You just showed everybody what happens to stupid football players who try to get away with bullying in open places. I still get the same looks and comments that I always used to- more, actually, since I apparently corrupted the once-great Troy Bolton. Come on, Troy. Don't you remember all the looks everybody was giving you on Monday when you came in wearing that shirt?" The look on Troy's face was answer enough. Ryan shook his head. "You probably also didn't notice how more than a few people in this mall were looking away in disgust when they saw us passing by holding hands, or pressed up against each other."

"But what about the people at Zeke's party?" Troy tried, next. "They didn't seem to care one way or the other."

"Zeke said he was vetting the guest list to only include people who didn't have a problem with us. By Friday, everybody at East High understood that anybody who didn't want to see the two of us together at that party, probably shouldn't come." Ryan sighed.

"He's right, Troy," Chad said, nodding. "I know of a few people that didn't come to the party because they knew the two of you were going to be there." Chad shrugged apologetically. "Sorry, bud- I was hoping I wouldn't have to mention that."

"So do you see why I didn't want you to fight him, Troy?" Ryan pressed. "There are plenty of people like him in the world, and you can't fight them all. If we're ever going to gain respect, it's not gonna be gained by kicking the crap out of every homophobic breeder you come across. I mean, do you really think that beating the living daylights out of them is gonna bring 'em over to our side? No, instead, they'll feel humiliated at having a faggot get the best of them, and they'll go pick on some other innocent queer just to make themselves feel better."

"Fine, fine, I get the point," Troy said, grudgingly. "I just didn't like the way that guy was talking to you."

"Oh, going after him because he besmirched my honour, eh?" Ryan asked, suddenly grinning. "It seems chivalry really isn't dead, yet. But-" and here Ryan's tone grew sharper- "I can handle myself, Troy. I am totally not the girl in this relationship, and I don't need you to fight my battles for me, verbal or otherwise." Ryan turned to Chad. "That goes for you too, Danforth. I appreciate the backup, but it's not necessary."

Troy just shrugged. "I can't make any promises," he said, in a frank tone. "I made a promise to myself, months ago, that I wouldn't let you come to any harm. I still remember vividly that day in the shower room, when I came in to find four football jocks standing over you… and you weren't moving. I still have nightmares about that," Troy admitted, candidly. "It doesn't matter that those jocks haven't bothered you since before we started dating, or that you've forgiven me for the horrible thing I did to you. That image is going to haunt me for a long time to come, Ryan. So, I'll try my best to hold back if it's something like what happened today… but I can't make any promises." Left unsaid was the fact that that wasn't the only recurring nightmare that Troy had regarding Ryan- Troy was loath to admit that he had nightmares about Ryan leaving him for a better, richer guy.

"Troy…" Ryan said, softly.

"Sorry, didn't mean to bring the mood down," Troy said, forcing a smile on his face. "Let's go grab some ice cream before Chad has to leave; I'm buying yours. Any protests?"

"I wouldn't dream of turning down such an offer," Ryan said, stepping forward to give Troy a soft kiss on the lips before putting his arm around Troy's waist. The two boys began heading towards said ice cream shop.

"Sounds good," Chad agreed, falling into step beside them. "And sorry if I stepped on your toes, before. But I almost feel as protective of ya as Troy does. No nightmares though, sorry," Chad said, almost apologetically.

"I understand," Ryan said, nodding his head. "All of your dreams involving me are good dreams, right? I hope I'm wearing clothes in at least some of them, though."

"Chad, I warned you," Troy said, shaking his finger at his friend. "Get your own man."

"I've got a friend from summer stock, Matthew was his name," Ryan said, smiling. "I think you're just his type. Want me to give him a call?"

"No!" Chad exclaimed. "No hooking me up with your gay friends!"

"But Chad," Ryan protested. "Hooking you up with my straight guy friends wouldn't work at all. Only my gay friends would be interested in you- and boy, would they be interested!" Ryan waggled his eyebrows.

"Then why didn't _you_ date this Matthew guy?" Chad challenged. "Surely you could do better than the clueless lunkhead jock you're with now."

"Hey!" Troy protested.

"I went on one date with Matthew," Ryan said, shrugging. "It was more of a pity date than anything, since he's really not my type. He's way too shy for me, and would never dream of taking the initiative. He spent the whole night trying to work up the nerve to kiss me, and by then, I was bored. I like my men a little more forceful than that. Troy wanted to be with me, and he fought for it. That's part of why I love him, you know." Ryan smiled up at Troy, who immediately returned it.

"What ever happened with your ex-boyfriend, the one that broke up with you at that party?" Troy asked, curious. "The alcohol pretty much eradicated my memory of that night; I don't even remember his name."

"That's because I never told you it, before that night," Ryan reminded him. "After all, before that night, I hadn't even come out to you, really. I figured you knew, but I still hadn't said it. I guess part of me was still a little worried that you'd freak out."

"No, instead you converted him," Chad said, shaking his head. The three soon found themselves in front of the ice cream shop.

"I'll take a rocky road," Ryan said, after considering his choices for a moment. Troy immediately placed his and Ryan's orders, followed by Chad, and the three were soon sitting on some nearby benches, eating their ice cream cones.

"Anyway, my ex's name was Peter Mercer, of the Philadelphia Mercers," Ryan said, picking up the previous conversation. "They're old money. His father became friends with my father last… October, I think. Met him at one of those benefits that my parents are always draggin' me and Shar to. We hit it off pretty well, and we spent some time together after that. When he asked me out, I was thrilled."

"What was he like?" Chad asked, interested despite himself.

"Oh, you know, your average, typical, extremely rich kid with a huge trust fund, who knew exactly what everybody was worth," Ryan replied, shrugging. "In other words, a lawyer in the making. He was way more forceful than Matthew, luckily, though he had a jealous streak in him. He never liked it when I spent any amount of time with people who weren't him. People like you, and Chad, and the rest of my friends from school."

"That doesn't sound like too much fun," Troy said, wrinkling his nose.

"Look at it this way, Troy," Ryan said, shrugging. "I must have meant a lot to him if he got upset whenever I spent time with people that weren't him. If he didn't care, he wouldn't have made such a big deal about it."

"That's… one way of looking at it," Troy said, diplomatically. In truth, it worried him. After they'd been dating a while, would Troy have to compete with other people for Ryan's attention? Would Ryan try to make Troy jealous, just so he'd prove that he cared?

"Anyhow, he actually seemed to care about me, which was nice," Ryan noted with a smile. "He never cheated on me, and he sent me text messages saying he was thinking about me, when I was too busy to hang out with him."

"But, he really didn't like it when I didn't introduce him to the people I blew him off for, sometimes," Ryan said, still in a casual tone. "But I explained it to him… I wasn't going to lie about him, but I wasn't sure I wanted to come out at East High. So how could I explain him to you guys?"

"Is that why he broke up with you?" Troy asked, trying to keep his voice even.

"Well, he accused me of stringing him along, when I was in love with somebody else. It got kinda strained, after that." Ryan shrugged, a little guiltily. "He may have been onto something, but I didn't actually mean to string him along. I just… started liking somebody more. It still hurt when he broke up with me, though," Ryan added. "Because I didn't think the guy I fell in love with would ever return the feelings." Ryan blushed, as he looked at Troy. "But I blew off one too many dates with him, because Gabi had just broken up with you and I could tell you were hurting."

"That's kinda eerie, if you think about it," Chad said, thoughtfully. "Gabi broke up with Troy, which made him single, and that ended up making Ryan single, too. So that made you both single and available to date each other."

"Well, throw in the fact that my close friendship with Ryan caused part of the strain on my relationship with Gabi, and you might have something, there," Troy pointed out. "Tell me the truth, Ryan. All this convoluted story about how our love lives seem so intertwined… was this all just some elaborate plot to woo me?"

"You caught me," Ryan immediately said, throwing up his hands as if in surrender. "But Step Nine, winning Chad's heart as well so we can have a threesome, is still proving problematic. Taylor suggested offering food, but even after the Olive Garden, he's no closer to taking his clothes off. Oh, well. Back to the drawing board."

"Better luck next time, Evans," Chad said, chuckling good-naturedly. "Feed me more, and we'll talk."

"Personally, I always thought the way to Chad's pants was through alcohol," Troy said, thoughtfully, as he licked at his ice cream. He looked up to see both Ryan and Chad staring at him in shock. "What?" Troy asked, defensively. "It's not like I actually meant that… I'm just saying…"

"I don't think I feel safe anymore," Chad said, as he threw away the remnants of his ice cream away. "It was bad enough that Ryan was after me, without adding Troy to the list."

"When Zeke drops Sharpay to pursue you, that's when you really need to be worried," Troy said, grinning.

"Troy, when Zeke stops going after Sharpay, we all need to be worried," Ryan replied, in a serious tone. "Because that's one of the signs of the apocalypse, and hear those are bad news."

Troy couldn't agree more.

qpqp

"So, here we are," Ryan said, as he pulled up into Zeke's driveway. He shut off the engine, and the two sat in the car silently for a while. After saying goodbye to Chad, the two had gotten into Ryan's car and driven around for a little while, before finally deciding to drop Troy off.

"I had fun, today," Troy said, finally breaking the silence. "I wish it didn't have to end, but I have to be home for dinner."

"Same here," Ryan said, nodding. "Also, Shar'll interrogate me about everything that's happened over the last few days, and we'll have that talk that I've been dreading. But I guess it can't be put off any longer."

"You could come by my place," Troy suggested, immediately. "For a while, at least."

"And what? Study the Bible?" Ryan suggested, sarcastically. "You parents may have accepted you, more or less, but I somehow doubt I'd be welcomed with open arms. I think they need to get used to you being gay, before I start gracing your doorstep."

"But my room…" Troy tried to salvage the idea.

"Your parents aren't my parents," Ryan pointed out. "My parents took bets on whether I was dating you or Chad. Your dad accused me of manipulating you for my own gains and turning you gay for nefarious reasons. Your mom will insist on an open door rule, and can you honestly say you would feel comfortable making out with me on your bed when your parents might walk by and see us?"

"Fine," Troy admitted defeat. "I just… didn't want to say goodbye, just yet."

"It's not goodbye, Troy," Ryan replied, reasonably. "It's a 'see you later.' I don't know what I have going on tomorrow, but if nothing else, we'll see each other on Monday. And Tuesday. And Wednesday…"

"Okay, I get the point," Troy conceded. "Do I at least get a 'see you later' kiss?" His tone was a tad plaintive as he said that.

Ryan's only response was to lean forward and place his hand on Troy's neck, drawing him into a kiss that lingered for some time. Troy really wasn't sure how long it lasted, but eventually the two were forced to come up for air.

"Was that suitable?" Ryan asked, sounding deliciously out of breath.

"No," Troy immediately said. "Because now I don't want to leave at all." He grinned at Ryan.

"Get out of my car, you crazy nympho," Ryan said, playfully pushing Troy back. "Go back home and dream nice dreams about me."

"If I have to…" Troy tried to pout, but Ryan wasn't having any of it.

"Out!" With a wounded expression, Troy finally got out of the convertible and turned back to Ryan, pretending to look sad. "I love you, Troy," Ryan said, in a softer voice. "I'll miss you, tonight. Sleeping with you in my bed is so much nicer than sleeping alone."

"I'll be over at your place as much as I can be," Troy promised. "I love you, too." Knowing that they would keep dragging it on forever if given half a chance, Troy finally closed the car door, waving at the blonde. He reluctantly walked over to his truck, trying not to look back at the blue convertible, already missing his boyfriend.

"Hey, Bolton!" called out a voice. Troy turned to see Ryan, almost ready to pull out of the driveway. "Nice ass." Ryan's knowing smile was infectious, and Troy found himself grinning like a loon. His cloudy mood already forgotten, Troy waved goodbye to Ryan as the boy slowly drove away from Zeke's house.

Troy spent most of the drive home in a daze, remembering scenes from the day. The feel of Ryan's soft, pale skin on his own. The hot breath on his neck, the needy kisses planted on his lips. And that fresh, clean smell that was the very essence of Ryan.

His reverie was broken, however, when Troy received a short text message from Kelsi. Simply hoping his day went well, and that she'd sent him an e-mail he should see, Kelsi got straight to the point. And even as he wondered what the e-mail contained, Troy couldn't help but recall the role that the short composer had played in his courtship of Ryan. Troy immediately resolved to buy her something as a thank-you. Maybe flowers or something else, like chocolate.

The smell of dinner was in the air as Troy finally walked through the front door of his house. His dad was sitting in the living room watching the baseball game, as Troy entered.

"Hey, son, how's it going?" Coach Bolton asked, smiling. Though it looked more than a little forced. No doubt he'd remembered who would be at the party. "Have a good time at the party last night?"

"The best," Troy said, immediately. "Lots of people were there, hanging and having a good time." Troy was well aware that both of his parents knew he drank on occasion. As long as he was careful, however, they turned a blind eye to it. The fact was, though… although the party itself was lots of fun, it couldn't even compete with the fact that he and Ryan had made up, and were stronger than ever.

"That's… good," Jack Bolton said, picking up on a little bit of the undertone. "Is everything… okay?"

"More than okay," Troy answered, honestly. Troy wasn't sure if his father was pleased with that answer or not… he was probably pleased that Troy was happy. But part of him probably wished that the two of them would break up and Troy would go back to dating girls. But Troy didn't see that in his future at all. What he could see of it, at least. And that, more or less, ended Troy's conversation with his father. Jack Bolton clearly didn't want to hear any details.

After greeting his mother, who was busy making dinner, Troy found himself heading upstairs, and towards the computer with the e-mail from Kelsi.

_Troy, here's something you'll appreciate. These are some pictures from the party last night, that I took with my digital camera. You and Ryan are the only ones who will ever get to see these, too, unless you feel like sharing them._

Troy, excited, immediately opened up the pictures she had sent, smiling as he looked at each one. Quite a few of the first pictures portrayed the couple hanging out with the rest of their friends. Troy and Chad. Ryan and Zeke. The four boys, together. There was actually a good one of Zeke and Sharpay in there, as well, and Troy resolved to send it to his friend immediately.

Then Troy reached the ones with just him and Ryan. Doing shots of Ryan's orange vodka, Kelsi just managing to catch the whole body shiver that Ryan had just done. The two of them just standing next to each other, their eyes speaking volumes. Quite a few of the two of them on the dance floor, Ryan looking hot as hell as he gyrated to the music. And Troy behind him, trying to be half as suave as his dancer boyfriend. For that matter, Kelsi had actually snapped a few pictures of Ryan when he had convinced Chad to dance with him. And while Chad seemed to have made Ryan keep his hands to himself, the blonde had still managed to get pretty close to the dark-skinned boy a few times. Troy chuckled to himself. Chad wasn't going to live this one down any time soon.

Troy finally reached the last picture in the batch. It had been taken after Ryan had fallen asleep in his lap. Troy immediately sighed as he remembered the feel of the smaller boy in his arms, resting comfortably in the safety of Troy's lap. Troy sat in his computer chair for a while, staring at the image as he remembered.

"Troy, dinner's ready," his mother said, as she knocked on his open door. "Time to wash up, and…" Lucille Bolton stopped as she caught sight of the picture on Troy's computer. Troy, startled, moved the mouse as if to close the window, but his mother stopped him. "You two… look… cozy."

"Sorry, mom," Troy said, apologetically. "I'm sure you didn't want to see that."

"What I want is to see you… happy," Mrs. Bolton said. "And if Ryan can bring you that happiness, then so be it." She hesitated. "And I am glad that you've apparently fixed whatever problem you were having. It's just… going to take some time to… adjust." She straightened up. "But dinner's almost ready, and you need to clean yourself up."

"Yes, Mom," Troy said, closing the window. He'd get ready for dinner now, but when Troy came back, he was saving those pictures. He'd been needing a new desktop background, anyway.

qpqp

"Was your lunch good?" Mrs. Bolton asked, as the family of three dug into their meal.

"Yeah, it was awesome," Troy said, enthusiastically, as his mind once again gravitated towards Ryan. "I was going to get the same old thing, but Ryan suggested something else, and it was so much better. And Chad had a great time, too." Troy finished, and silence befell the table. Troy was at a loss to explain it, until he realized he'd brought up Ryan again. It made him feel a little weird, having his parents so ambivalent towards somebody that his life seemed to revolve around, nowadays, but Troy had no regrets.

"I was thinking," Mrs. Bolton said, hesitantly. "Do you think Ryan would be free Tuesday or Wednesday night?" Troy could tell she was having difficulty getting the words out. "We'd like to have him over for dinner, if he is."

Jack Bolton shot his wife an uncomfortable look, but her eyes were only on Troy.

"I'll ask him," Troy promised. "I'll sure he'll come if he can. Dinner sounds like fun." As long as his father ate in a separate room from Ryan, that is, Troy thought to himself. There were so many ways this could go badly, but Troy already knew that his boyfriend would try, anyway. That was the sort of person he was. And even if it didn't go well, Troy couldn't be happier that his mother was actually trying to make things work.

As the conversation shifted to other, less touchy subjects, Troy allowed his mind to wander. One day, perhaps, Ryan would be sitting here too, as the four of them chatted about anything and everything. And his parents would be talking to Ryan just as easily as they'd talked to Gabi, or Chad, or anybody else. And though that day seemed so far away… it was things like his mother's invitation that made Troy realize that that day was far away… but they were getting there, one day at a time.

qpqpqpqp

So maybe it took a little longer than I thought it would, but not too much longer… And with this weekend fiiinally finished, I can move right along. Expect time to start flying by, as our boys' relationship hits a few more bumps along the way. Up ahead next: Dinner with the Boltons, and Golfing with Mr. Evans. And a few more surprises…

Let me know what you think of this chapter! I know that there are quite a number of you who read this story, and only some of them leave reviews… and to all of you lovely reviewers out there, I love you dearly! Now I'd like to hear from you silent readers out there… what do you like about this story? What could be changed? Should I ever just make Chad realize his true feelings? j/k…

Squall


	23. Relative Insanity

A/N: I know, I know, I'm a horrible person who needs to be yelled at for taking so damned long.. But this chapter, which took so long to write, took even longer to satisfy me. It just wasn't popping. Things felt rushed, and that prompted a rewrite and a new scene entirely. And once again, this chapter in its original form was, in addition to being rushed, was also going to be too long. So a nice part of Chapter 24 has already been written, and the rest of it will be easy. So, it shouldn't take more than a week or so for Chapter 24...

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

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Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 23 - Relative Insanity

"Come on, Troy," Ryan said insistently, tugging on Troy's arm. "It'll be fine; odds are, you won't even run into Zeke or Sharpay first thing. I need to get something out of my locker before first period, and I wanted to spend some 'us' time, too. And not in the parking lot, where everybody who pulls in can see us." It was a cloudy Monday morning, and five minutes ago Troy had pulled up in the school's parking lot, where Ryan had been waiting for him to walk into school together. As far as Troy was concerned, though, that wasn't going to happen.

"Uh-uh," Troy said, folding his arms, sulkily. "I'm just gonna stay right here in my truck until school lets out. You can bring me lunch."

"I'm your boyfriend, not your bitch," Ryan replied, raising his eyebrows. "If you're gonna be ridiculous, I'm not helping you and you can just starve. You're getting your ass in there, or else." He continued tugging on Troy's arm, insistently.

"But I couldn't even look them in the eye!" Troy burst out, his face reddening. "I felt like I was going to die… I knew the Jacuzzi was a bad idea at the time; the no-clothes idea was even worse."

"I sure didn't hear any complaints from you when you were in the Jacuzzi with me," Ryan reminded him. "_Especially_ when the clothes came off." Ryan grinned. "Unless that moaning was code or something?"

Troy answered Ryan with a guilty grin, remembering yesterday afternoon. The blonde had been right; he sure hadn't had any issues with it when Ryan had suggested it. In fact, he'd been all for it. For that matter, at the time, Ryan seemed to have quite a few bright ideas, starting with a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than what Troy's day had been shaping up to be.

After all, spending the day relaxing with Ryan at stately Evans manor had been, hands down, a better idea than watching the baseball game with his father in awkward silence. With his mother was gone, once again, to some sort of community meeting about some upcoming event- not Troy's cup of tea, so he didn't pay much attention to it- things had been back to tense between his father and him without his mother's calming influence. So one phone call to Ryan later, and Troy had been at the front door of the Evans estate.

"You promised that there was nobody around," Troy whined, as he allowed himself to be pulled out of his truck. "Zeke and Sharpay aren't nobody."

Ryan sighed. "I thought we'd be alone," he admitted. "With Mom and Dad still at Lake Tahoe- Mom's choice of vacation for winning the bet that you were my boyfriend, not Chad- and with Shar claiming that she was spending the afternoon with Zeke, I thought we were home free. I mean, she was gone by the time you pulled up. I figured that meant she wouldn't be back for a while. I had no idea that she was going to bring Zeke back to the house!" he exclaimed, defensively. "But it _was_ fun until they ruined things, wasn't it?"

Troy couldn't help but smile, even as he let the blonde pull him towards the doors of the school. "It was… And didn't you say we were fulfilling some fantasy of yours?"

"Yeah," Ryan blushed as he answered Troy. "Ever since we got that Jacuzzi, I always wanted to be in there, alone, with my boyfriend. I didn't even have a boyfriend yet, but that Jacuzzi made me want to get one just so I could try it."

"Well, it may not have ended the best," Troy said, his face still horribly flushed from the memory, "but the time we did spend in there was great. I could definitely do without Sharpay's high-pitched scream, next time. And maybe we could just leave the trunks in the Jacuzzi? Asking Sharpay to turn around because we didn't have anything on… God, I almost died," Troy added, mournfully. "And the fact that you'd tossed our trunks across the room just made it worse."

"Did you say 'next time'?" Ryan asked, his eyes growing wide. "You mean… you want to do that again?"

Troy just grinned. It was obvious that Ryan had totally missed everything else he'd said after that. "Yeah, next time. But your whole family has to be out of town- maybe out of the country- or I'm not going for it."

"Maybe this summer," Ryan whispered into Troy's ear, after he'd leaned in to peck Troy on the cheek. "My family spends almost the entire summer at Lava Springs; Shar, especially, would die if she missed a single day at the spa." He kept his arm around Troy's shoulders, as they reached the doors.

"This summer, then," Troy promised, as they walked into the school. Then he thought of something else, something that had been on his mind for a while. "Speaking of this summer…"

"Troy!" a voice called out, a voice that Troy knew all too well. With that, Chad Danforth came bounding forward, a smirk on his face.

"Hey, Chad," Troy said, with a sigh. He guessed his question could wait till later.

"Morning, Evans," Chad added, with a nod of his head. Then he turned back to Troy. "So, Troy, I was talking to Zeke, this morning," he said, his grin even wider.

"Oh, God," Troy groaned, burying his face in Ryan's shoulder.

"Sounds like you're branching out from kitchen tables," Chad continued with an evil smirk on his face. "What's next? Gonna have Kelsi catch you fucking in the dressing rooms?"

"Of course, not, Chad," Ryan said, stroking Troy's hair comfortingly as he did so. "I figured the backseat of your car would be so much more appropriate. Or how about your hood? We're just getting started." Ryan smiled a trully evil grin. "You'll long for the days of kitchen table sex."

Troy looked back up quick enough to catch the horrified look on Chad's face.

"And I'll bet Zeke didn't tell you about the shower we took afterwards, eh?" Ryan added, almost nonchalantly. "Still want to play?"

"I have to…" Chad said, backing away. "I mean, I was supposed to… Taylor!" he shouted almost in relief. He rushed off in the direction of the dark hair that he had caught a glimpse of in the busy crowd walking through the hallway.

"You know, that's not always going to work," Troy commented, as he and Ryan continued towards Ryan's locker. "Eventually he won't even react to those kind of comments. Then what are we going to do whenever we want to get him off our backs?"

"The key word is 'eventually,' Troy," Ryan said, shrugging easily. "I think that'll be a while coming. And besides, I'm almost looking forward to the day when my comments don't phase him."

"Really? Why?" Troy asked, confused.

"When the day comes that us talking about gay sex doesn't bother Chad, then it'll be a day to celebrate. Then we'll know he's finally accepted us fully."

"I thought he had," Troy replied, still confused. "I mean, he's okay with us being together."

"Chad's your best friend, and Chad and I have become friends in the last year or so," Ryan explained, as they reached his locker. Popping it open, the blonde began swapping out books. "So he likes both of us as friends, and he knows that we're happy together. But part of him is still very uncomfortable about the actual concept of us being together. So for Chad right now, I'd say he probably hopes that we'd be the gay equivalent of Dick Van Dyke, where Rob and Laura were married but slept in separate beds."

"That's a little unfair," Troy protested, automatically defending his absent best friend. "I know he still squirms when he sees us make out in front of him, but that doesn't mean he doesn't approve of us. He said he's fine with us making out, as long as he doesn't have to watch. Give him a little credit; this came as much a surprise to him as it did to me, and I think he's handled it well so far."

"Ok, Chad has been great about all of this," Ryan conceded. "So far. But who knows? You never know about straight people. Maybe he'll reconsider things, and suddenly decide he's not okay, after all. And I don't want either of us hurt by that." Ryan's voice was deadly serious as he finished his point, and held more than a tinge of worry of it.

Troy looked at his boyfriend with narrowed eyes, not entirely believing what he was hearing. This didn't sound like the Evans he knew, who never much worried what anybody else thought of him.

"You don't actually feel that way about Chad," Troy said, quietly, after he'd thought about what Ryan said. And what he wasn't saying. "You're talking about somebody else, aren't you? I mean, I guess there's always the possibility that Chad will get tired of all the gay jokes and having to deal with us, but I don't see him rejecting us. But my father, on the other hand… You're worried about him, and tomorrow night's dinner, aren't you?"

"You think I'm worried about that?" Ryan said, closing his locker door. "Because I'm not."

"Then what…" Troy tried asking, but Ryan wasn't finished.

"I'm not worried, Troy," Ryan said, his voice a mixture of emotions. "I'm fucking petrified." And Troy could tell by the look in his eyes that he was dead serious.

"Of my father?" Troy asked, shocked. "You've met him before, and you know he wouldn't do anything. And I told you that he's trying to make his peace with me being gay."

"That's my point, Troy," Ryan said, urgently. "He's trying to get used to you being gay, but there's nothing in there that says he wants to get used to me being the guy in your life. And to that other thing you said? No, Troy, I don't know that he wouldn't do _something_. That's why I'm petrified."

"Are you saying my father scares you?" Troy asked incredulously.

"Maybe a little, especially now, but it's the situation itself that scares me more," Ryan clarified, as he and Troy began walking down the hallway with no particular destination in mind. "Troy, can you really tell me that he'll be thrilled to see the guy who single-handedly turned you away from the world of breeders? Even if he's getting used to you being gay, he probably resents me for your 'radical lifestyle change'."

"It wasn't your fault," Troy said, tucking a few stray hairs behind Ryan's ear. "You just helped me realize something I'd never have acknowledged by myself. I would've just spent my life repressing this part of me."

"I know that, Troy," Ryan said, smiling back at his boyfriend. "But to add to the problem, I'm fairly sure your dad's not too happy with your choice, either," Ryan pointed out. "I'll bet he might have been a little more comfortable if you were dating somebody like Chad, if that boy ever came out of his closet, or anybody else from a sports team. In other words, somebody who he can at least find some common ground with. Somebody masculine, that wouldn't look too bad on your arm." Ryan shrugged. "I'm a flamboyantly gay theatre actor with a penchant for dramatics and brightly coloured hats. Which part of that can your father related to?" Ryan's tone turned mocking. "Oh, what's that you say, Mr. Bolton? You've got a trilby just like mine? My goodness! And you say you like Broadway musicals? Me too!" Ryan shrugged, as if to say 'see?'.

"He's been evaluating me, you know," Ryan added, grimacing. "Watching me during gym class. So, lucky him, he gets to see when I fail to make baskets or when I have stand there uncomfortably as our fellow classmates pick teams and act like the only reason why they pick me is because they have to. Which probably _is_ the reason, come to that. Well, except for Zeke," Ryan qualified. "Zeke does watch out for me, and I'm never the last picked when he's doing it. But based on what your dad has probably observed, I definitely don't fit his qualifications as your boyfriend," Ryan concluded. "A skinny, pale blonde who seems to be no good at any sports, matched up with his superstar son?"

"Well, you fit mine," Troy insisted, as he pulled Ryan into a small alcove in the main hallway, where the door to the boiler room was. "So what if gym isn't your best class? That's not why I'm with you. You're really smart and funny, and you are like the quickest I've ever seen with the verbal comebacks. And you're handsome, too," Troy added, wrapping his arms around Ryan. "Doesn't that count for anything, here?"

"It does," Ryan assured him. "But… it's just… I want your dad to like me. To my parents, you're already like a second son to them. My mom is thrilled to death that you're gonna be around the estate more, and my father keeps talking about golf tournaments he could enter with you as his partner. Even Sharpay… you know that we finally had that talk last night, right?" Troy nodded, as Ryan had indeed called him immediately afterwards. "She actually gave you her approval!! Apparently our advice to Zeke did the trick, because she actually likes him more, now that he's not kowtowing to her every whim all the time. Also, with typical Sharpay logic, she's happy with our meddling, but at the same time she's hoping that since we're together we'll be too busy to meddle in their new relationship, too. I know, that doesn't make any sense, but that's my sister for you," Ryan said, smiling. Then his tone turned serious. "But is it too much to ask that your dad like me even half as much as my dad likes you?" Ryan bit his lip nervously.

"He'll come around," Troy assured his boyfriend, smiling reassuringly. "He just gets things stuck in his head."

"I had a dream last night," Ryan blurted out, looking a little embarrassed at bringing it up in the first place. "We were at your house for dinner… and Chad was there for some reason, too. In a security guard uniform, too. And your father started yelling, and making all sorts of ultimatums."

"What kind of ultimatums?" Troy asked, a little concerned.

"He made you choose between your family and me," Ryan said, looking down at the floor. "I don't remember exactly what he said, but it came down to dumping me or being disowned from your family." Ryan's voice was extremely low at this point, as if he could barely get the words out. "You picked them. You didn't lose your family, and I got shown out the door by Security Guard Chad."

"That'll never happen," Troy said, flatly. "If my dad wants to force the issue, he's not going to be happy with my decision." He shrugged. "My mom would never let him do that, though. You have nothing to worry about, Ryan," Troy said, reassuringly. "Whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me."

"I guess I'll have to apologize to Chad for getting his hopes up, for nothing," Ryan said, relief clear in his voice. "Thanks, Troy," Ryan said, sounding a lot happier, now. He gave Troy a peck on the cheek. "I needed to hear that."

"Any time," Troy said, smiling back at his boyfriend. Troy then quickly checked the time on his cell phone. "I should probably walk you to homeroom now, if I don't want to be late."

"You don't need to," Ryan protested. "I don't want you to be late."

"I want to," Troy insisted, looping his arm through Ryan's. As was becoming standard, the two boys received more than their fair share of stares and pointed looks as they walked through the hallways of East High, but Troy was getting used to it. Sorta. "I guess I can understand where that kinda nightmare could come from," Troy said, contemplatively, "but I hope you know that I'd never do that to you. Choose against you, I mean."

"Well, with a decision like that… Breaking up with me or being disowned?" Ryan asked. "You're telling me it doesn't scare you to be cut off of your family, all over one person? That's major, Troy. I'm not sure there's a person out there who wouldn't have second thoughts about things."

"Well, I'm not worried," Troy said, assuredly. "Because it's a moot point, in our cases. Your parents would never give you that sort of ultimatum- it is so obvious that they just want you to be happy. And my parents… they wouldn't do that, either. And even if my dad threatened that sort of thing…" Troy shrugged. "He would've made my decision for me. I'd rather be with somebody who won't make those sort of demands. Besides," and here Troy grinned, "I really wouldn't mind living in Casa de Evans. Beautiful house, handsome boyfriend, and fabulous food? Who could ask for more?"

"Well, at least I know why you're dating me, now," Ryan teased. "It's for all the luxuries that come along with me, isn't it? You, Troy Bolton, are a gold digger!!" He poked Troy in the side.

"Hey! No more poking!" Troy tried to catch Ryan's finger as the blonde started jabbing at him, again. "Hey! You're gonna get it!" Troy tried to speed up to evade Ryan, laughing hard, as the blonde kept trying to poke Troy again. Until they almost ran down a junior girl who suddenly exited a nearby classroom and found herself right in their path.

"Sorry," Troy managed to say, in between wheezing. "He started it."

"Evans don't start such things," Ryan said, folding his arms innocently.

"It's ok," the girl said, shyly. Then she looked up. "I think you two are cute together," she said in a rush. "I saw you two on Friday night, at Zeke's party."

"I remember you," Troy said, nodding. "I think," he added, his brow creasing in thought. "I was a little… under the influence."

"I have to go," the girl said, backing away. "I have to get to class… I just wanted to tell you." With that, she rushed off, her face a little flushed.

"That was a nice little boost," Troy said, smiling, as they continued on their way. "Sorta makes up for that guy on Saturday, huh?"

"It sure does," Ryan said, nodding. The two finally reached Ryan's homeroom. "Well, here we are," Ryan said, nodding. "Thanks for walking me to class, Troy."

"As long as I don't have to carry your books, we're good," Troy said, grinning. "I don't want the school to think I'm the girl in this relationship."

"Even if you are?" Ryan quipped, his eyebrow raised. "See you during free period, Troy." He kissed Troy quickly on the lips, before backing away.

"See you," Troy said, as his boyfriend entered the classroom. He slowly sauntered towards his own homeroom, a broad smile on his face. He couldn't wait for free period- if only they didn't have to go to those boring class things. Also, Troy silently made a decision to talk to his father, to see if Coach Bolton could stop scrutinizing Ryan so closely in gym class; it was obvious that the blonde was nervous enough as it was.

qpqp

"I can't believe we've got less than a month left in this place," Zeke said, as he and Troy walked down the hallway on Tuesday, on their way to meet up with Ryan and Sharpay for lunch. Chad had to meet with some teacher about a project he had, or something.

"It's crazy, isn't it?" Troy said, shaking his head. "For a while, it felt like high school would never end. And yet, there were times where it felt like I was running out of time to do everything I wanted to do in high school." Luckily for Troy, Zeke really hadn't acted any differently around him since the Jacuzzi incident, besides some blushing. And Troy had firmly placed himself in denial land, pretending that it had never happened. Or at least the Zeke and Sharpay part, that is. It was a little hard to forget the hot naked boyfriend part when the mental image had found itself lodged in Troy's brain. And part of him was wondering when they could do it again.

"I figured I'd graduate from high school without ever getting a fair shot from Sharpay," Zeke admitted. "Then I'd go away to college and meet some hot cheerleader that would make it her mission in life to nurse my broken heart back to health." Then he smiled. "But actually being in a real relationship with Sharpay? I think I can deal. So, what are the two of you going to do when college starts?" Zeke's tone was curious. "I mean, you're not going to the same college, right?"

College. Shit. Leave it to happy-go-lucky Zeke to completely ruin Troy's appetite. And possibly his entire day. Troy knew that he was rather definitely in the land of denial on this, but the truth was, he hadn't been thinking about it at all. Whenever the subject threatened to crop up in Troy's thoughts, he'd deflected it with thoughts of what he and Ryan were going to do tomorrow, or next week, or after prom. And Troy still had his worries and concerns about what would happen after graduation, when the summer's activity would demonstrate quite firmly how different their lives were. Rich boy whose mother owns the club, meet Cabana Boy. Oh, wait, you draw the line at dating the help? That's understandable.

Now Troy's already overactive brain was working overtime to deal with Zeke's innocent comment, and what it meant for him and Ryan.

Really, Troy chided himself, it wasn't like he didn't already know about Ryan's college plans. And how they didn't include Troy's choice, the University of Albuquerque. Leave it to Troy to not connect the dots together. Ryan and Chad always seemed to be teasing him about his inability to follow things to their logical conclusion, and Troy guessed they must to be on something. After all, Troy did things like making a elaborate plan to visit Ryan's estate to apologize to him, only to realize he hadn't figured out what he was going to say.

Ryan had been ecstatic when his acceptance letter from NYU had arrived- Troy must've heard about it at least a dozen times in the first week alone. And at the time, Troy had been thrilled for his friend, and had toasted Ryan's success. But then again, when the letter had arrived, Troy was still with Gabriella, and Ryan was just a close friend. Did it really matter where Ryan went? And the blonde leaving Albuquerque for New York seemed a perfect fit for him; Ryan would definitely be more at home there. And a theatre program, no less? Perfect.

That was then. Now, perfect was far from the word that Troy would use to describe it. Disastrous, maybe. Heartbreaking. All of these feelings flashed through Troy as Zeke's words sank in, but the only one that lingered, that Troy could feel clearly, was despair. Come August, Ryan would be gone. Not for a day, a week, or whatever. Months. And considering the fact that Troy started missing his boyfriend when they'd been apart for mere hours, he was just plain screwed.

"He's going to NYU," Troy found himself answering Zeke, his voice small and quiet. "Thousands of miles away."

Zeke whistled. "Man, I do not want to know how many frequent flier miles you guys are going to rack up over the next few years."

"Yeah." Troy attempted to smile. "That's what we'll do. And it's not like we won't be home for holidays, either. It'll work out just fine." But as Troy and Zeke continued to walk through the hallways, Troy had to wonder… was he reassuring Zeke, or himself?

qpqp

"Troy, I need you to go downstairs and get the company plates from storage," Lucille Bolton said as she was cutting vegetables. "They should be on that shelf near the washer, near that box with those books I've been nagging your father to get rid of."

"Ok, Mom," Troy said, getting back up from the chair he had just sat down in. He had arrived home only half an hour beforehand, and had barely had time to breathe before his mother had been barking orders at him. Well, not orders, exactly. More like pointed requests she expected him to follow. So maybe they _were_ orders.

"And after you bring them up, I'll need you to wash them; it's been a while since we've used them," Mrs. Bolton added, as Troy began heading towards the basement door.

"Yes, Mom," Troy said, suppressing a sigh. Of course, he barely had his hand on the doorknob before his mother spoke again.

"And the living room still needs to be vacuumed," Lucille Bolton pointed out. "And I think it's been a while since I dusted in there."

"It was yesterday," Troy replied, immediately. "Same with the vacuum. Oh, and the bathrooms too, in case you were going to mention that." Troy sighed. "What's going on, Mom? Ryan isn't the President of the United States. Trust me, he's just thrilled to get an invitation."

"I know, but I want this house to look its best," Mrs. Bolton fretted. "I'm sure the Evanses have a housekeeper to take care of things like that."

"You're… nervous?" Troy asked, surprised. "Why?"

"I know that your father and I haven't been the most supportive about your… relationship with Ryan," Mrs. Bolton said, sighing. She put her knife down and walked over to her son. "I flat-out accused him of corrupting you, and your father…" Placing her hand on Troy's shoulder, she managed a smile. "I'm a little worried about what Ryan might think of us- I'm sure he probably didn't have this sort of problem with his parents."

"He knows you're trying your best," Troy said, smiling back at his mom. "And so do I. Everything will work out for the best."

"I hope so," Mrs. Bolton said. "As long as your father doesn't… well, I don't know." She placed a fond hand on Troy's cheek, before walking back to her cutting board. "If you can get those plates and wash them, I think that's all I'll need from you." Lucille Bolton began placing the vegetables in the crock-pot, where the roast she was making had been cooking for a while, now. "I guess I shouldn't have made you come home directly from school; you probably could've hung out with your friends, or Ryan, for a while."

"It's no big deal," Troy assured her, opening the basement door. "Even if I'd stayed at school for a while, Ryan wasn't going to. He said he was heading straight home to get ready."

"Get ready?" Mrs. Bolton asked, perplexed. "Dinner isn't till six, and it's only 3:30."

"That's Ryan for you," Troy said, shrugging as he smiled. "He likes looking his best, and doesn't like to rush. I wouldn't have him any other way," Troy added, grinning. "You said the dishes were on the shelf next to the washer, right?"

With a nod from his mother, Troy headed down the stairs to retrieve the company plates. His mother almost never broke those plates out; they were a gift from _her_ grandmother for the wedding, and were quite expensive. Christmas and Thanksgiving were generally the only times that Lucille Bolton allowed them to be used, as they seldom had dinner guests. At least, ones they wanted to impress as much as Troy's mom seemed to want to do for Ryan.

Finding the box easily- the label on the side of the box reading "Company Plates" was a dead giveaway, Troy slowly made his way up the stairs. Dinner guest or no dinner guest, his mother would kill him if he dropped them.

"Oh, Troy, I almost forgot," Mrs. Bolton said, as soon as Troy made it all the way up the stairs. "While you're washing those plates, would you mind digging out four wine glasses and washing those as well?"

"We're having wine, too?" Troy asked, surprised. "I thought you and Dad could never agree on wine, because he never bought the good stuff, and we always end up with some confusion over whether we could be drinking white or red with the meal."

"It was Ryan's idea," Mrs. Bolton confessed. "He called me up right after you two boys got off of school today, and asked if it would be appropriate if he brought a bottle of wine. He said that his parents had taught him that when invited to dinner, it was always polite to bring something like wine or… I don't know what." Surprising Troy, Mrs. Bolton actually chuckled a little. Since he'd gotten home today, he hadn't seen her so much as crack a smile. "The poor dear sounded as nervous about this as I am, so I told him to go ahead and bring it."

"He probably asked you what type of meal it was, too" Troy said, trying to act like he knew all about such things. "He knows when to bring white or red. He's trying to teach me a little, but we…" Troy trailed off, as he blushed. The truth was, Ryan was always filling Troy's head with things like which wine goes with which meat, all the different silverware, etc. And each time, they ended up getting distracted.

"So where's Dad?" Troy asked, trying to change the subject. He didn't need his mom prying into his personal life too much, even if she probably wouldn't make the connection between wine choices and second base.

"He… said he had to work late," Mrs. Bolton admitted. "But he promised he'd be home in time for dinner."

"Meaning, he doesn't want to spend any more time around Ryan than he has to," Troy translated, bitterly. "He'll probably get home with just enough time to get changed before we eat dinner."

"Troy, give him a chance," Lucille cajoled him. "You know this hasn't been easy for him; he just needs a little more time to come around."

"A little more time," Troy finally allowed, nodding. "But if he says anything bad about Ryan…" Troy trailed off, looking determined. "I'll get these dishes washed up, then I'll get started on my homework," Troy decided. "I don't know how long I'll have to finish it, after dinner." Because regardless of how well his parents reacted to Ryan, Troy intended that the night end on a good note, with just the two of them. His purchases at the grocery store after school would ensure that.

qpqp

"Troy! Could you get the door?" Mrs. Bolton called out from the kitchen. But, really, she might as well have saved her breath, as Troy had been out of his seat the moment the door bell had rung. Hoping it wasn't some annoying Girl Scouts selling Thin Mints, Troy opened the door.

"Hey," Ryan said, grinning at Troy as he fidgeted a tad nervously on the front porch. In one hand, he held the bottle of wine he had said he was going to bring, with a bow on the neck. His other hand was behind his back, but Troy was more concerned with Ryan's handsome figure than whatever he had in his other hand, if anything.

"Hey, yourself," Troy said, happy to see his boyfriend. Ryan was wearing a royal blue button-up shirt, different from the others Troy had seen. Apparently Ryan had remembered when Troy had told him how much he liked him in blue. His pants and shoes were nice, though neither of them were as flashy as the ones he wore at times. And to be fair, Troy had only a passing glance for them as his attention was fixed on Ryan's head. And the noticeable absence of any hat.

"It's considered impolite to wear a hat to the dinner table," Ryan said, easily guessing what Troy was thinking. "So I could either wear one beforehand, and end up with hat hair, or…" Ryan brushed his hair back, a little nervously. "Is it okay? I brought a hat just in case, but…"

"I like it," Troy interrupted him, smiling. "It looks nice."

"Troy, you were supposed to let him in," Mrs. Bolton complained, as she approached the door. "Not make him stand on the front porch." Then, as she turned to Ryan, a slightly uncomfortable yet genuine smile crossed her face. "It's good to see you, Ryan. Would you care to come in?"

"Thank you, Mrs. Bolton," Ryan said, stepping inside the house. "I brought a nice bottle of wine, to thank you for inviting me."

"Oh, you didn't have to," Mrs. Bolton said, her smile turning just a tad more uncomfortable. It was obvious to Troy that even if she had known about it beforehand, his mother still wasn't comfortable with the idea of Ryan bringing over a presumably expensive wine as a gift.

"It's my pleasure," Ryan said, his own smile far more genuine. Troy knew that the blonde was probably just as nervous, if not more, but he hid it a lot better. "And I also brought these, if it's okay." With that, Ryan finally revealed what was in his other hand- a small bouquet of flowers. "Troy mentioned that you liked daffodils, so…"

"Oh, my," was all Mrs. Bolton could say, clearly taken aback.

"I'm sorry, was that too much?" Ryan asked, anxiously, his nervousness finally showing through. "I just… I wanted to make a good impression…"

"Don't worry about it," Troy said, deciding to take pity on his equally flustered mother and boyfriend, and break the awkward moment himself. "Ryan's just a little nervous, Mom, and he didn't want to seem like an inconsiderate guest. And don't worry, Ryan," Troy added, grinning. "This is nothing like Meet the Parents- my dad's not about to hook you up to a lie detector machine." The sceptical look in Ryan's eyes told Troy that Ryan's fears weren't completely assuaged, and that Ryan would still be on the lookout for a polygraph, but his smile returned, nonetheless.

"I'll go find a vase," Mrs. Bolton said, taking the daffodils from Ryan. "They look beautiful, Ryan." With that, Troy's mother left the two of them alone by the doorway.

"Thanks, Troy," Ryan said, sounding relieved. "I was afraid I'd already messed up or something." Looking around to make sure Troy's parents weren't looking at him, Ryan reached behind his back and pulled out a single red rose. "This one's for you," Ryan said, his usual beaming smile back on his face. "I figured your parents wouldn't appreciate me giving you a bouquet; they don't need to know you're the girl in the relationship," Ryan added, smirking.

"I am _so_ not," Troy protested, punching Ryan in the arm, lightly. "Come on, babe- my father's in the living room watching the baseball game."

"Ah, yes," Ryan said, dryly. "The walk to the gallows. I'm sorry I haven't changed my will yet to include you; Shar'll end up with most of my stuff."

"Hey, I'll be right there beside you," Troy said, taking Ryan's hand with his free one. "I won't let him go after you. That's my job," he added, smirking. Placing the rose on a side table- Troy silently resolved to find some water for it when he had a chance- the two boys entered the room where Coach Bolton was watching the Diamondbacks game with an intent look.

"Dad," Troy said, in a moderate tone, pitched just loud enough for his father to hear him.

Coach Bolton glanced up, a smile beginning to grace his lips as he regarded his son, but that smile was promptly quashed as he took in the appearance of Troy's boyfriend and instead settled on a grim and rather forbidding visage.

"It's nice to see you, again," Ryan tried, nevertheless, despite the look on Jack Bolton's face.

"Mr. Evans," was the only response he received, as Troy's father turned back to the baseball game.

"Told you he doesn't like me," Ryan mouthed to Troy, as the brunette frowned at his father's rather terse non-greeting. Troy sighed, unhappily; he'd been hoping that his father would suddenly change his tune and greet Ryan fondly. Improbable? Yes. Still, Troy had been holding out a little hope, but that had been dashed with only two words.

The two boys, at a loss for anything better to do, and mindful of the fact that slipping away upstairs would probably only make things more awkward, sat down on a nearby couch and watched the Diamondbacks game, as well. Troy had a moment's hesitation before sitting next to Ryan, just close enough that their legs were touching.

As the Diamondbacks game continued on, a awkward silence, feeling almost like a heavy cloud, pressed down on the three, as the three males were either unwilling or unable to talk. Troy was currently entangled in a mental debate with himself.

'Take his damn hand, dummy,' that annoying inner-monologue voice told Troy. 'Ryan's nervous, and he could use a little attention from his boyfriend.'

'But Dad's sitting right there,' Troy argued. "You know how he'll react if he looks over at us and sees us being all… couple-y.'

'I doubt he even wants to look over at you two,' replied the sarcastic voice. 'And besides… how much worse can it really get with your dad? Ryan needs support, now. How hard is it to just take his hand?'

Though Troy had to concede the point, he really hated that stupid voice in his head that always told him how big of an idiot he was. So, just to prove a point, Troy decided to go one better. Instead of merely taking Ryan's hand, Troy put his left arm around Ryan's shoulders, drawing him closer, as he clenched Ryan's hand with own right hand. Troy could feel a lot of the tension in Ryan's body leave him as he relaxed in Troy's embrace.

"Sharpay offered to show up and protect us if we needed it," Ryan said, in Troy's ear. "She even specifically mentioned you, too. She knew I'd refuse, but it was a nice offer, anyway. Shar… she's been really supportive, lately. If we overlook her reaction to the Jacuzzi incident, of course."

"Well, no offense to your sister, and her offer was appreciated," Troy said, smirking, "but I think that would be a case of throwing fuel on the fire." He spoke just as quietly as Ryan had, and hopefully his father wasn't so interested about what they were saying, that he'd strain to hear them.

"Do you think things are going to work out here?" Ryan said, directly, his smile gone. "I don't know if I'm doing so well, here. I think I went overboard with your mom, and from your dad's reaction, I don't think he's even remotely pleased to see me. Not an auspicious start to the night."

"I told you, don't worry about it," Troy assured him. "Right now, we're trying that whole diplomacy thing, where we try to work things out peacefully. I don't see why an unexpected bouquet of flowers is such a big deal. But if doing it the nice way doesn't work, then we get to the more serious threats. If my parents can't be nice about things, or at least try, then I start getting tough with them. I'm gay, I'm with you, and there's nothing they can do about that."

"So fierce," Ryan murmured. He briefly clenched Troy's hand, as if verifying Troy's presence once again. "Thank you, Troy, really."

Troy's response was to give Ryan a quick kiss on the forehead. Throughout the entire exchange, Coach Bolton hadn't so much as turned his head towards the boys, and otherwise hadn't given indicator that he'd heard a word they'd said.

"All we have to do is get through dinner," Troy said, after a moment spent in silence as the two watched the baseball game. "I've got plans for us afterwards- it'll make up for anything that could possibly happen tonight. Not that I think that something could happen," Troy added hastily. "But either way…"

"Sounds like fun," Ryan said, and Troy could more feel than see him smile.

The three men silently waited for the summons for dinner, though to Troy it felt a little more like being sprung from a prison cell. After Troy and Ryan's whispered conversation, the room was more or less quiet- despite the fact that Troy's father didn't seem to be hearing them, neither boy really wanted to test that theory any further. What little conversation there was between them was idle chitchat about their respective days at school.

At one point, Coach Bolton did, in fact, turn his head towards the boys, perhaps to ask Troy something about school or basketball. Whatever he had been planning to say, however, was lost as he took in the sight of the two boys sitting cosily together, his only son snuggled up with East High's own Drama King. After seeing them, Troy was pretty sure his father was biting back a rather more pointed remark. Troy just sat there, steadily looking back at his father, a hint of challenge in his eyes. Jack Bolton finally looked away, shaking his head.

It was a small gesture, holding Ryan's hand or wrapping your arm around another person's shoulders, Troy realized, but sometimes the small gestures were the most important ones. No matter how far Troy had come in outting his relationship to the world, he still found himself retreating back the closet every so often when under pressure. For his parents' sake, Troy would probably never make out with Ryan in front of them; what was hard enough for Chad, his best friend, to watch, would probably be twice as hard for parents that had probably expected him to marry Gabriella and pop out a couple of cute grandchildren. But at same time, being respectful of their boundaries and reservations had to be balanced against treating his boyfriend with respect and not ignoring his nervous feelings for the sake of parents that, no matter what, wouldn't be fully happy.

So Troy sat there with Ryan, occasionally murmuring a few encouraging words to calm him, or squeezing his shoulder to let the blonde know that he cared. No matter how unwelcome Troy's parents may be making Ryan feel, Troy was determined to show the blonde that as far as he was concerned, Ryan was more than welcome.

Regardless, when Troy's mother announced it was dinner time, the two boys couldn't help but feel relief. They quickly popped up from the couch, following Troy as he murmured something about washing up. Troy still found time to shoot his father one more challenging look before leaving the room.

They had no sooner than entered the Bolton family bathroom before Troy had his fingers in Ryan's belt loops, pulling the blonde into the kiss that Troy had been wanting to give him since Ryan had showed up at his door- a moment later Ryan's tongue met his own and Troy moaned his appreciation.

"We can't be too long," Ryan panted, finally coming up for air. "We don't want your parents to discover us like this."

Reluctantly, Troy backed away from Ryan, a flushed face and a quickened heartbeat the only evidence of their impromptu make-out session. Well, almost, Troy amended his thought, as there was a little more tell-tale evidence a little further down. But one disturbing mental image later, and that problem was solved.

"Later," Ryan said, grinning. "Unless, of course, you had other plans… Like, I don't know… Bible study?"

"Even if I did, I'd always have time to fit in some making-out," Troy said, grinning, as he washed his hands. "And that's the second time you've mentioned bible study… All I know about that sort of thing is that when I get my hands on you, you'll be saying 'oh, god.' Screaming it, even."

"Now how am I supposed to concentrate on dinner?" Ryan complained, playfully pushing Troy aside so that he could wash his own hands. "I'm gonna have that image stuck in my head all night."

"Precisely my plan," Troy said, drying his hands off and then passing Ryan the hand towel. "All right, lover boy. Let's get this dinner over with, so we can get to the important stuff."

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So, what did you think? It looks like this dinner might not go too well.. Or will it?

Let me know what you think!!

Squall


	24. Don’t I Get Any Say in My Own Life?

A/N: I know, I'm a horrible person, and a liar. I said a week or so, and, well… this is definitely longer than a week. I'm sure you're not interested in excuses, so I won't give any. So I'm not going to make any more promises like that. I'll end up breaking them any way. There are only two promises that I can and will make. And that is that I will continue to write this story until it's complete, and that the ending is approaching. At this point, I'm going to say that we'll probably reach 30 or 32 before it's done, but that's not confirmed, just a guess. But do not worry. I will stick with this story until its end, and that most of it has already been mapped out for quite some time.

Oh, and I watched HSM3 a week ago. I'm not going to include most of it in my story, since it's a bit late for that. Way too much Troy and Gabriella in this movie, as per usual. Oh well.

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

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Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 24 - Don't I Get Any Say in My Own Life?

"So, Ryan, I heard you met Aunt Margo," Mrs. Bolton said, smiling slightly as she took a sip of her wine. "That must have been… interesting."

"Yes, ma'am," Ryan said, sharing a smile with Troy. Troy could tell that Ryan was genuinely enjoying himself, and his mother seemed to have lost completely the nervousness that had characterized the bulk of the night, thus far. He wasn't sure if it was Ryan's natural charm, or the excellent wine that Ryan brought; his mother was on her second glass. "I think it'll be a while before _she_ invites me over for dinner; thank you, again, for the invitation, Mrs. Bolton, this roast is excellent." Troy could tell that Ryan was turning the charm on, full-blast, for his mother. Everything, from the décor to the food, or the tablecloth, had received Ryan's approval. And, as far as Troy knew, each statement was an honest compliment, instead of just sucking-up.

"If Margo had it her way, _I_ would never be invited over for dinner," Lucille Bolton said, bluntly. Then she smiled. "So I guess that puts the two of us in the same boat, Ryan. Troy told me about your meeting. Then I got a call from her, the next day," she added, rolling her eyes. "She really wants to have a talk with you, Troy, about this," Mrs. Bolton said, her tone a little more serious. "Well, the first word out of her mouth was exorcism, but you know how excitable she is."

"Remind me to hide when she comes over," Troy said, dryly.

"Where are you going to college, Mr. Evans?" Coach Bolton interrupted their conversation. Troy started a little; besides the odd request to pass this or that dish, his father hadn't spoken a single word. And his wine glass hadn't been touched.

"I've been accepted into NYU," Ryan said, attempting a smile towards Jack Bolton, who didn't reciprocate.

"Troy is going to U of A," Coach Bolton said, abruptly. "That's almost the whole country between the two of you."

"I think if we try hard enough, we can make things work," Ryan replied, quietly. "It may take some compromise, or some sacrifice on our parts, but I won't let something like distance come between us. Distance is a minor problem, compared to some we've faced. If I let that get between us, what sort of boyfriend would I be?" That last statement held a little bit of the fire that Troy knew lurked inside his deceptively slim boyfriend.

"NYU? Good for you, Ryan," Lucille Bolton interjected, trying to lighten up the dinner conversation.

Ryan said something else to her, just then, probably to thank her for her comment, or to say something about NYU. Troy wasn't really sure, though. The college thing, once again. He supposed he'd better start getting used to the idea of not having Ryan around, come fall. And get used to that rock in the stomach feeling that always seemed to accompany the thought. There was no getting around that fact, and Troy, like it or not, was going to have to accept it. But Ryan seemed determined to keep their relationship strong, despite the distance. That was something Troy could hold on to. Wasn't it?

"Troy?" Ryan asked, and Troy shook himself out of his reverie. Ryan looked concerned- concerned enough, at least, that it was bleeding through the polite mask that he tended to put on whenever dealing with hostile people, and Troy's father in particular.

"Sorry," Troy said, forcing a smile on his face. He picked up another piece of roast with his fork and proceeded to take a bite of it, pretending it tasted wonderful. "I was just thinking about something; it wasn't important."

Troy could tell that Ryan wasn't fooled, but the blonde wasn't about to ask about it while his father kept shooting him death glares from across the table. Troy firmly banished the negative thoughts from his head- he didn't have time to be dealing with them. . This was here, and this was now. It wasn't time to be thinking of future problems; they had enough real ones right now. "The Diamondbacks pitching roster's been looking really solid, lately," Troy said, looking towards his father. If anything could get his father to respond, it would be baseball. "Do you think we'll win the division again, this year?

"This could be a good year for them," Jack Bolton grudgingly said, like even talking at the same table as Ryan offended his sensibilities. "They're starting out strong, but the season's just started. And what with Davis being out for surgery for thyroid cancer, we won't know well he'll do when he gets back."

"But what about Scherzer?" Ryan chimed in. "He's doing pretty good for a rookie. Hopefully he can hold down the fort till Davis gets back." He gave Troy a quick smile as he winked. "Didn't he actually pass an old record in his first relief pitching appearance?"

"That's true," Coach Bolton said, looking a little surprised at Ryan's answer. "You follow the Diamondbacks?" For once, his voice was filled with hostility, but instead sounded honestly curious.

"I do," Ryan said, shrugging. "I love baseball. My little league coach always said I had a lot of promise, too. But that's the sort of thing coaches always say after you've won them the Little League World Series."

"You used to play?" Coach Bolton's tone was full of disbelief, as he narrowed his eyes at Ryan.

"You don't have to be straight, to like sports," Ryan said, pointedly. "_Or_ to play them." He stared right back at Coach Bolton.

Coach Bolton opened his mouth to respond, or perhaps to yell (Troy couldn't always tell), but instead bit back his response. He instead took another bite of food.

"This was really excellent wine, Ryan," Lucille Bolton said, trying to diffuse the tension that had, once more, swept across the table.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it," Ryan said, putting on his charming smile again as he turned towards her. "It's a nice little utility wine, that goes with a lot of different meals, without overpowering them.

And as Ryan continued chatting about wine, Troy silently caught his father's eye, and just stared at him for a second. He knew that his father wasn't finished yet, and only hoped that they could at least finish dinner before the inevitable showdown. Then, just as deliberately, Troy turned towards Ryan, and gave him a smile. Ryan smiled back at Troy, and briefly gripped his hand under the table.

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"Troy, I need you to help me wash the dishes," Mrs. Bolton called out from the kitchen.

Ryan's hand, which until then had been loosely threaded in Troy's own, now found itself in a death-grip that threatened to cut off all the circulation in Troy's hand. And Troy understood why- The two, along with Troy's father, were back in the living room, and Troy could practically see the thundercloud hovering over his father's head. After his question about college, and Ryan's pointed comment about gays and sports, Jack Bolton hadn't uttered another word, but instead had spent the rest of the dinner glaring intently at Ryan.

"Troy, I'm not going to ask you again," Mrs. Bolton said, raising her voice.

"Don't leave me here," Ryan whispered urgently to Troy. "He looks ready to kill me, and I don't have a table between the two of us, or dull cutlery to fend him off with."

"Troy, listen to your mother," Coach Bolton said, firmly. "Or would you like to be grounded for the next month?" Something in his voice told Troy that he would be more than happy to ground him, for any reason.

Troy glared at his father, but slowly stood up, giving Ryan an apologetic look. Ryan was reluctant to give Troy's hand back, but eventually let go, his fingers trailing hesitantly along Troy's until the connection was broken.

Troy was immediately handed a dish towel as he walked into the kitchen. "You're in charge of drying the dishes," his mother informed him. "And I'm sure I don't have to tell you to be careful; these dishes are…"

"Yeah, I heard you… the last ten times," Troy muttered, taking the proffered towel.

"You're testing my patience, Troy," Mrs. Bolton warned, handing him the first plate. "Just because you have a guest is no reason to disrespect your father or myself. In fact, you should be on your best behaviour when we have guests over. I'm sure Ryan was, whenever his parents invited you over to dinner, last week."

"Well, _his_ parents made me feel welcome. _Both_ of them," Troy emphasized. "I appreciate that you're trying, Mom, but Dad sure isn't. Why do you think I wasn't rushing forward to help you out with dishes?" Troy gesticulated with his dish towel. "I don't mind helping you, but Ryan, my boyfriend, was actually a little bit afraid to be left alone in the same room as my father! My dad watches him in gym class, stares at him like a hawk during dinner, and you wonder why I didn't want to leave him!"

"Oh, that's ridiculous, Troy," Mrs. Bolton said, though her voice was none too steady. "What a horrible thing to say about your father. He just worries about you, and your future. A stigma like this… being with Ryan… could hurt any basketball career you have."

"A stigma?" Troy said, disbelievingly. "Mom, you have no idea how I feel about Ryan. No idea at all. I've told you, and told you, and yet you seem to think that it's a passing fancy that I'll outgrow. I thought you understood, and I thought you were starting to accept things, but it looks like I was wrong. I…"

Troy was suddenly interrupted by raised voices in the other room. Looking alarmed, Troy managed to catch a few words, something about not being spoken to like that, by a fag, no less… and Troy was out of the kitchen, his dish towel falling to the floor.

"You are ruining my son!" Coach Bolton said, his face bright red. He and Ryan were both standing, facing each other down. While Coach Bolton looked ready to kill, Ryan was trying to force an indifferent look on his face. "You have turned him into a queer, and somehow convinced him that that's okay! And that he should be open about it! I will not stand for this!"

"But you'll have to," Troy said, responding before Ryan could. In an eerie moment that almost felt like déjà vu, Troy found himself once again taking his rightful place at Ryan's side, defending him against his father's ire. "I'm not straight, dad. Yeah, I still like girls… but I like guys, too. Guys like Ryan. I'm not going to hide that. I came to this of my own free will, and I don't regret anything. I'm proud to be called Ryan's boyfriend, and I don't care who knows about us. I'm tired of living a lie. I'm not going to deny who I am, or who I'm with. " Troy took Ryan's hand in his own, absentmindedly noticing that the blonde's hand was shaking. He found himself gently stroking his thumb up and down Ryan's hand, trying to soothe him.

"Well, I just don't accept that!" Coach Bolton retorted back, angrily.

"Jack!" Lucille Bolton said, her tone sharp. "Your yelling isn't helping at all."

With an effort, Jack Bolton forced himself to calm down. "I'm sorry… I'm trying to deal with this, Troy, I really am." Coach Bolton sighed. "This all just came… too fast for me to deal with, all at once. I know you think you're gay, Troy, and I've tried to wrap that around in my mind. I've talked to your mother about it, and I guess there's nothing I can do. If you feel like you need to date boys for now, there's little I can do to stop you, short of grounding you for the rest of the foreseeable future. And we both know how that would end."

"Dad…" Troy sighed. "I don't think it, I know it. It's not just a phase."

"I just don't understand why you feel the need to broadcast this sort of thing. Troy, your personal life is nobody's business but your own. If you… choose to be gay, I can't stop you. Believe me, I wish I could. It's a difficult lifestyle at best, and the worst… I don't even want to think about that…" Coach Bolton actually looked worried. "But think about it, Troy! You know that there aren't any openly gay basketball players out there, and there's a reason for that! Be smart, Troy! Keep it to yourself! You come out, and stay out, and your career is over before it begins. Do you really want that?! You can… you can live a normal life, Troy!" Coach Bolton's voice was nearly pleading by the end. "I would… do anything, everything I could if it would mean you lived a happy life. You can have that, Troy. All you have to do is keep this… lifestyle… to yourself, and you can have that."

"Just go back in the closet, and my problems will be over. Is that what you're saying?" Troy asked, his voice eerily controlled. Ryan looked at Troy, alarmed, but Troy only had eyes for his father.

"That's it," Coach Bolton said, encouragingly. "And if you still feel like you have to come clean about things, if you still think you're gay, wait till you're retired. Then you can do anything you want."

"That's not fair to Ryan," Troy pointed out. "He doesn't deserve to go back in the closet for me." Despite Troy's deceptively calm voice, he was almost quivering in anger. In a bizarre reversal of positions, Troy now found his hand being stroked in the same way he had been doing to Ryan mere moments ago. But to be fair, at that moment, Troy was definitely the one that needed it.

"He doesn't have to," Coach Bolton said, his voice now harder. "Troy, if you're really serious about this… I really don't like the fact that you think you're gay, now, but… I'm trying to deal with it. I'll grit my teeth, for now. But I will _not_ accept even the idea that Ryan is right for you. He's not good enough for you! You're an athlete, he's some queer dancer- he's not your type at all!" Coach Bolton began pacing back and forth, as his voice grew louder.

"Ryan is exactly what I need!" Troy shouted back. "If you actually got to know him, you'd realize that. Instead, you only see what you want to see!"

"Jack…," Lucille Bolton said, as she approached her husband and put her hand on his shoulder. "I know that this is hard to accept; I'm still having problems, too. But…" and it sounded to Troy like the words were being forced out of her mouth, "Ryan _is_ a good boy, and if Troy really is going to be dating… men… he could do a lot worse than Ryan." She actually managed a smile at Ryan, who briefly returned it. But, Troy noticed, other than that quick smile, Ryan was remaining completely expressionless and quiet throughout most of the confrontation, as if trusting Troy to deal with his father.

"But being with him would ruin Troy's chances at the NBA!" Coach Bolton exclaimed. "Don't you see that, Lucille? They'll never accept an openly gay player! That's unheard of! And as long as Troy is dating this… queer… he wouldn't be able to hide things if he tried! Nobody would believe they were just friends! Think about what you're throwing away, Troy! Millions of dollars, endorsement contracts! That's your future, Troy, that you're throwing away! Think about what we planned! Isn't this what we've talked about all these years? Can you actually stand there and tell me that you're willing to throw that all away… for him?!" To Troy, it almost sounded there like his father had come close to saying 'it', but had stopped at the last moment.

Troy hesitated, though, as he considered his father's words. His dad really did have a point, there. That sort of thing _was_ hard to contemplate giving up, for anybody. Sure, Troy loved Ryan, but that wasn't to say that they'd last forever. Troy still had real problems figuring out where he'd fit into Ryan's life, once school was over. And with college looming… So could Troy really give up all of that potential money and fame, just for a relationship that may or may not even work?

Troy, almost without thinking, glanced over at Ryan, as if sizing him up. Ryan, who seemed to know exactly what Troy was thinking, and where his mind was headed, just looked back at him with a mixture of sadness and resignation. But even he continued looking at his boyfriend, Troy was suddenly struck by what seemed like visions. Or memories, rather. Him and Ryan, hesitantly holding hands in the movie theatre, skating together at the rink, regardless of the onlookers. And most of all, that night in Zeke's bedroom, when Troy had told Ryan that he loved him, and that feeling that had overtaken him as he realized that he meant it, utterly and completely.

"All of life's a gamble, Dad," Troy said, softly, his mind finally made up. "I have no idea if I'll be successful on U of A's basketball team, and I sure as hell have no idea if I'll be successful enough to not only be drafted by the NBA, let alone be good enough to get endorsement deals. That's a lot of maybes, Dad. I have no idea what my future might hold… But there is one thing I do know, Dad. That is that I love Ryan, and if I let him go because of all these 'ifs' and 'maybes'… that's something I'll regret for the rest of my life." With that, Troy gently pulled Ryan into his arms and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips, backing his words up with action. Then he turned back to look defiantly at his father.

"Are you… are you sure about this, Troy?" Lucille Bolton asked, softly.

"As sure as I can be about anything," Troy answered simply. His mother nodded in resignation. "So there it is, Dad. You can either accept that, and be happy for me… or you can yell at me some more, and rant and rave about what I'm doing. It won't change anything."

"I can't do that, Troy," Coach Bolton said, his tone sounding genuinely sad. "I can't just sit back, and calmly accept that you're throwing your future away for this… Evans. They only care about themselves; didn't your experience with Sharpay teach you anything? He's told you what you want to hear, and you bought it, hook, line, and sinker. You're making a big mistake, Troy, and I cannot and will not support you in this." Coach Bolton looked at his son, with what looked like genuine regret, but his expression didn't waver. Lucille looked torn, as if unsure whether to side with her son or her husband. And all the while, Troy just stood there, his arm around Ryan's waist, his eyes bright with unshed tears, but no less firm than his father.

"I don't get it," Ryan seemed to finally find his voice, as he looked at Coach Bolton. "I've stood here and listened to what you called logic, and I don't see how you can just pass judgment on Troy, like you really know what's best for him? You haven't listened to a word your son has said, have you?" Ryan's voice became stronger. "Part of growing up is finding your own voice, and making your own decisions. My parents once told me that no matter what I did with my life… even if they privately disagreed with my decisions, they would always be behind me, one hundred percent."

Then Ryan's tone turned scathing. "And have you even listened to _yourself_, Mr. Bolton? You've told Troy that it's okay if he wants to be gay, but only if he doesn't do anything gay. Like having a boyfriend. Are you going to ban show tunes from the house, too? How much more hypocritical can you get? For that matter, what kind of parent are you, to encourage your son to lie and deny his very self? I stood here, all this time, taking all the abuse you could throw at me, even though I was just aching to respond. Why do you think I did that, Mr. Bolton? Because I had hope that you would come around, that your love for Troy could overcome your shortsightedness. And listen to you! I can't believe you have the nerve to dismiss Troy's sexuality so cavalierly, like you know his feelings better than he does! You know nothing!"

"I will not be addressed in such a tone, in my own house!" Coach Bolton thundered. "Especially not by a dirty pervert like you."

"Enough!" Ryan yelled, looking the angriest that Troy had ever seen him. Both Coach Bolton and Troy jumped at that outburst, as well as Mrs. Bolton, who was looking disappointedly in her husband's direction. The closest Ryan had ever come to this level of fury, in Troy's recollection, was the day that Troy had outted him. And that had been more hurt than anger. "I'm not going to listen to any more of this poisonous bullshit, Mr. Bolton. I am not going to listen to you abuse my boyfriend, anymore, either! It ends now!" Troy had never seen Ryan Evans yell, but he was getting an up close and personal look at it, now. The blonde looked apoplectic.

"I told you not to speak to me like that, ever," Mr. Bolton warned him, ominously.

"Try and stop me," Ryan said, his face deadly serious. "I know you probably thought that I was some weak-willed queer who would just take your abuse and not fight back, but you're dead wrong. I know all about standing up and fighting for what I believe in. My life is a constant battle, day in and day out, with ignorant people like you. Nothing but nasty words, muttered threats, and pointed glares from people who think that the only good faggot is a dead faggot."

"That's an exaggeration," Coach Bolton scoffed. "You people seem to be everywhere, nowadays. It can't be that rough. And I don't want you dead, Mr. Evans. I just want you out of my son's life, forever. You've already done enough damage."

"Ain't gonna happen," Ryan stated, flatly. "I don't care what you say," Ryan said, stepping forward a bit, until he was face to face with the enraged man. "Did you hear that? I don't care what you say. I love your son, I know he loves me, and I'll do anything I can to make our relationship work."

Ryan stepped back again, standing next to Troy. He brushed off some invisible lint from his shirt, as he pasted a fake smile on his face. "Thank you for the dinner, Mrs. Bolton, it _was_ quite delicious. Please let me know when I'm welcome here again," Ryan added, his voice icily polite. "Troy, would you see me to the door, please?"

"Of course," Troy said, breaking out of his momentary paralysis. The two boys left behind a silent living room, though Troy could hear his mother start to cry soon after they left. The two made their way to the front door, where Troy held it open for his boyfriend with an apologetic look on his face.

"I guess we won't be ending the night on a good note, after all," Ryan said, sadly. "Troy, I'm…"

"Drive up to where we parked that one time, near those basketball courts," Troy interrupted him. "I'll meet you up there, with my surprise. We _will_ end the night on a good note, so help me God."

"Okay," Ryan said, a genuine smile finally gracing his features. That smile that Troy loved so much. He gave Troy a quick kiss on the lips, and just as quickly pulled back. He gave a little wave, and without further ado walked to his car. It was clear to Troy that Ryan would've lingered, but didn't want to be in or near the Bolton house any more than he had to. That briefly saddened Troy, as he realized that his own boyfriend really didn't feel welcome in his house, but that sadness quickly turned into resolve. Heading back towards the living room, Troy caught sight of the rose that Ryan had brought him. Or what was left of it, anyway. The stem had been broken in several places, and the bloom looked to have been crushed by a fist.

It was funny, really. It was just a simple flower, one of hundreds, thousands of others that you could pick up at any local florist. And Troy wasn't a girl- guys didn't get flowers, they gave them. Right? So why did Troy even care about a silly little rose? Because he did. He wasn't even sure why, but as he gazed at the pitiful remains of the flower, he found himself getting upset. Yeah, it really was just a simple gesture, but it felt like so much more than that. Troy picked it up, regardless of its condition, and entered the living room. His parents were still there, talking quietly to each other, but went silent as soon as they caught sight of Troy.

"I've always been proud to be your son," Troy said quietly to his parents, though his gaze was still on the broken flower he was absentmindedly toying with in his hand. "You raised me to follow my dreams, to not let anybody hold me back or tell me that I couldn't do something. You encouraged me to do what I believed was right, and supported me wholeheartedly. And despite all of that, I was always afraid of disappointing you." Troy looked straight at his father, slightly watery eyes the only sign of the emotions he was feeling. "I never imagined that you were capable of disappointing me. You took everything you taught me, and turned it on its head. You wanted me to do something that I knew what wrong, to break the heart of somebody that I love dearly, and to hide who I really am, from the whole world."

"Troy, your father was just…" His mother started, her eyes already a teary mess from before.

"Mom, I know. He were just doing what he thought was best for me," Troy said, sighing. "But it's time I decided what's best for me, not you guys. I'll live, and grow, and I'll probably make mistakes. That's what happens. And no, I don't regard dating Ryan as a mistake. If you'd bothered to ask him, Dad, you would have realized that all Ryan wants is for me to be happy, and to be myself. Isn't that what you've always wanted for me?" Neither parent answered, but Troy already knew what their answers were.

"I know you tried your best, Mom, but I guess we weren't ready for 'meet the parents night' yet," Troy said, a bitter smile on his face. "Maybe someday we will be, but as long as Dad can't respect me, my decisions, or my boyfriend, it'll just have to wait."

"Troy, I respect you, it's just…" Coach Bolton struggled to make plain his words, but they didn't come out.

"No, Dad," Troy said, firmly, his face set. "You don't. You've insulted my choices, my intelligence, and my boyfriend, repeatedly. Do you have any idea how much it hurts to have your own father use words like 'faggot' and 'queer'?! You made it very clear to Ryan that he wasn't welcome in this house! At all! My own boyfriend couldn't wait to leave this place, because of you!" A tear ran down Troy's cheek, but he made no effort to wipe it off. "If fags aren't welcome in this house, I guess that means me, too. Is that what you want, Dad? Do you want me to just leave, and get out of your sight?"

"Troy!" Lucille Bolton exclaimed, her own tears much more obvious. "Don't say that sort of thing! You're always welcome here, baby. You're our son, and we love you. Both of us," she added.

"Troy-," his father started to say, but Troy cut him off.

"Please, Dad, enough for one night," Troy said, softly. "I'm tired of hearing twisted logic about how you're ok with me being gay as long as I don't do anything gay, or that telling me you respect me makes up for everything you've said about me and Ryan. I really don't feel like talking about this, any more. I promised Ryan that the night wouldn't end on a bad note, and I'm going to meet him in a minute, to keep that promise. So I'm going out. Don't wait up for me."

And with that, Troy turned around and walked out of the room, wiping away the tears that began coursing down his cheeks. He could hear his mother begin to cry in the next room, but Troy forced himself to keep walking. He would thank his mother for the support she had given him, later- Ryan was waiting for him, and Troy was going to do his damnedest to salvage the night.

qpqp

Troy felt a moment of panic as his truck approached the abandoned basketball courts, and he couldn't see Ryan's convertible, anywhere. Troy's imagination immediately provided him with half a dozen horrific scenarios, all of which were dashed to pieces when he made the last turn and saw Ryan's car, parked under the large oak tree that had blocked Troy's view.

Chiding himself for his foolishness, Troy pulled up alongside Ryan's blue convertible, smiling as he finally caught sight of his boyfriend.

"Hey, babe," Troy said, once the two boys had gotten out of their vehicles. "Sorry it took me a while; I had problems finding something at home."

"It's ok," Ryan said, softly, as he approached Troy. He stopped just beyond arm's reach, causing Troy to inwardly frown. If Ryan was pissed off at him, for God knew what reason, Troy sure didn't get it. "So, what's this surprise of yours?" Ryan asked, a flicker of impatience in his voice. He was now wearing a fedora that matched his shirt, presumably the one he'd mentioned earlier.

Suppressing the urge to interrogate Ryan, Troy instead opened up the passenger side door of his truck, grabbing the box he'd set on the floor. Ryan raised his eyebrow at the small box and the variety of objects it contained. Troy just led Ryan over to a large patch of empty grass. Pulling out a large plaid blanket, Troy draped it over the grass with a cheeky grin directed at Ryan. Then he sat down on it, gesturing for Ryan to join him.

"Do I really have to get down there, on the hard ground?" Ryan asked, wrinkling his nose. "Couldn't we have done this somewhere else, more cushioned?"

"Oh, I brought a cushion," Troy said, grinning at Ryan. He had no idea why Ryan was being so difficult all of a sudden, but he was undaunted. "I brought me. I'll be your cushion."

Troy could tell that Ryan was trying to fight the smile that he couldn't help but give, and was rewarded by a twisted half-smile sorta thing.

"That was awful, Troy," Ryan said, folding his arms. "I can't believe I'm dating a guy that would make that cheesy of a remark." But he sat down on the blanket nevertheless, as Troy just grinned unrepentantly. But as Ryan left a significant amount of space between them, Troy's grin was quickly wiped away.

Deciding not to make it an issue- yet, at least- Troy continued unloading the box. "I also brought this battery-powered lantern," Troy said, turning it on. "I was hoping we wouldn't have to use it tonight, but, unfortunately, it's pretty overcast tonight, so we can't sit here under the stars."

"Again, cheesy," Ryan commented, rolling his eyes. There was a catch in his voice, though.

"But?" Troy pressed him, feeling it coming on.

"But…," Ryan admitted, as if the words were being dragged out him. "it's also romantic. I can't believe you put all of this together, just for me."

"Oh, this isn't just for you," Troy said, teasingly. "I've got my other boyfriend coming along later, once I'm finished with you."

Ryan slapped Troy on the leg. "Yeah, I'm sure," Ryan said, dryly. "A few weeks ago you weren't even sure you were gay, now you've got two boyfriends?"

"Three," Troy corrected him, grinning. "But the third one couldn't make it tonight."

"Troy Bolton, gay pimp extraordinaire." Ryan snorted. "If only Chad knew…"

"Oh, didn't you hear? Chad's number three," Troy replied, glibly. "Sorry, Ryan, but I got him first."

"Well, as long as I'm Boyfriend 1, I guess I can deal," Ryan replied, his distant, emotionless expression from 'meet the parents night' long gone. In its place was a big smile that Ryan seemed to have given up on suppressing. So far, so good.

"You're in hot competition with Zeke," Troy informed him. "He got major points for Friday night's party."

"You need to be docking him points for his cockblocking routine at the Jacuzzi," Ryan exclaimed. "And I'd like to hear how many points those long showers gained me." He slapped Troy's leg again, for the brunette's comment.

Troy was ready for it, though, and grabbed Ryan's wrist before he could pull it back. Laughing, the two boys wrestled around for a while, until Troy had both of his arms around Ryan. The blonde immediately stopped moving, allowing Troy's arms to maintain their secure grip on him. For a while, neither of them spoke, as if they didn't want to ruin the moment.

At one point, Troy tried to loosen his grip, just a bit, to prevent his arm from falling sleep, but Ryan immediately pulled Troy's arms tighter around him. Troy took that as his cue. "What's the matter, Ryan?" Troy asked, finally breaking the silence. "Is it what happened with my Dad? He'll-"

"Please, Troy, not now," Ryan said, his voice hoarse. "I don't want to talk about that. Please, just hold me. That's what I need."

Troy really wanted to talk things out, but Ryan seeemed to want less talking and more holding. So Troy stayed there, holding Ryan, as his arm slowly became a lump of numb flesh that was going to hurt like a bitch when the blood flow was finally restored. That was until Troy could feel droplets falling down on his arm.

"Okay, talk to me, Ryan," Troy said, turning Ryan to face him. Which was quite a feat with one working arm, as the other was all pins and needles. Just as Troy suspected, Ryan was crying, tears running down his cheeks. "I don't like seeing you cry… Why are you so upset?"

"I… It's just…," Ryan started, angrily wiping the tears from his eyes with a vengeance, though there were even more to replace them on the way. "What your dad said… what I let him say… God! There's never been a time that I've wanted to say 'I told you so' less than right now…" Ryan scrubbed his face with his hands.

"You _were_ right," Troy said, softly. "My dad really isn't ready to accept that I'm actually gay, let alone that I have a boyfriend. I'm sorry you had to listen to all of that."

"It's not your fault, Troy!" Ryan exclaimed. "You're not the one who said those things. It… The thing is, Troy…" Ryan threw his hands up in the air. "I don't know! I just know I fucked things up tonight!"

"Ryan, babe, that wasn't your fault," Troy tried to reassure him.

"Yes it was!" Ryan exclaimed, before sighing. "I stood there and took all of that abuse, so that maybe we could actually come to an understanding tonight. God, Troy, do you know how hard that was to listen to?" The tears in Ryan's eyes were flowing freely now. "I've never let anybody talk to me like that, without me talking back! But I thought that if, just once, I kept quiet, maybe he'd come around. But he didn't, and I fucking yelled at him! He was your father, Troy, and I yelled at him! God, I fucked up so much." Ryan started to shift, to pull away from Troy, but Troy wasn't having any of that.

"Actually, Ryan, I think you might have done some good," Troy said, finally, his own voice a little hoarse. "Standing up to him, and all that. Once he calms down, he might actually respect you a little more."

"Really?" Ryan asked, a note of hope in his voice. Or maybe desperation.

"Really," Troy said, his own voice firm. Truth be told, he had no idea how his dad was going to react, but that wasn't what Ryan needed to hear right now. "The fact that you tried at all, even knowing how my dad was probably going to react… that says a lot right there. I know how hard it had to be for you, to listen to everything my dad said. And knowing that it _was_ my dad, not just a random bigot… that had to be so much harder."

"I… I just don't want to ruin your relationship with your dad, Troy," Ryan said, tears still brimming in his eyes. "That's the last thing I want to do." He began to silently sob for a moment, before Troy gently wiped the tears from Ryan's eyes.

"Shh, shh, shh…" Troy whispered, soothingly. "It'll be okay." He gently pulled Ryan to his chest, resting his chin on Ryan's head. "Where's that Evans family sassiness?" Troy joked, trying to lighten things up a little.

"Tell no one," Ryan said, his voice muffled by Troy's chest. "Especially not Sharpay. She'll disown me from being her twin."

"Your secret dies with me," Troy promised.

The pair stayed like that a while, Troy's shirt front becoming damp, until with a sniff, Ryan pulled back, his tears no longer flowing. He gave Troy a brief, but genuine smile, as he wiped the remnants of tears from his eyes.

"I wish the stars were out tonight," Ryan whispered, as he laid down on the blanket. "I'd take cheesy and romantic any day," he added, looking up at the cloudy sky.

"I'll keep this stuff handy in my room," Troy promised. "That way, the next time we'll be ready." He stretched out beside Ryan, their arms and legs barely touching. "Maybe, next time, you can bring one of those bottles of wine that you've got at home. We'll have a right little picnic. How does that sou-oooond," Troy said, yawning as he finished his sentence. As he yawned, Troy covered his mouth, and instead of putting his arm back down next to Ryan's, he reached over and managed to maneuver it around Ryan's shoulders. "Just keeping in line with the cheesy, romantic theme of the night," Troy said, as Ryan giggled a little.

"Troy, I knew from the moment that you first started dating Gabriella that you were totally the cheesy, romantic type," Ryan responded, shaking his head. "Both of you. One just as bad as the other. Though if I'd known about the kitchen table incident, I would've reconsidered," Ryan added.

Troy groaned. "I swear that the bulk of our sex life wasn't that risqué." Then his tone turned playful. "But does sex on a blanket in the park measure up to that, at least somewhat?"

"You've got a one-track mind, Bolton," Ryan said, as he closed the distance between them. Resting his head on Troy's chest, Ryan's hands began lazily caressing Troy's abs. "So, is there anything else is in that box of yours?"

"Oh!" Troy said, remembering what else he'd brought. "There is, actually. If you'll just let me up for a moment…"

"You're outta luck there, Troy," Ryan said, making no effort to move. "Unless you can reach the box from where you're laying right now, cuz I am totally settled for the night, here."

"That's only because you don't know what the surprise is," Troy said, gently pulling away from Ryan. "Trust me, it's worth it." He reached over to grab a mini cooler from the box. "I brought ice cream!" Troy said triumphantly, opening it up.

"Rocky Road?" Ryan asked, his eyes lighting up. "You remembered!"

"We got ice cream three days ago," Troy gently reminded him. "If I had already forgotten that, I'd be thrown into horrible boyfriend prison." He opened up the carton of ice cream, and pulled out two spoons.

"Oh," Ryan said, flushing slightly. "Well, this is still really…" Ryan paused. "I'm not sure what to say, Troy," Ryan said, quietly. "This all is just…"

"Fabulous?" Troy suggested, doing jazz hands as he did so.

Ryan burst out laughing. "I never thought I'd see in my lifetime; Troy Bolton himself doing jazz hands and saying 'fabulous.' You've just made my year."

"But the year's less than half over," Troy pointed out. "That means I've got more than six months to do something to top that." Dipping the spoon into the ice cream, Troy held it out for Ryan to take a bite.

"This reminds me of the Olive Garden," Ryan said, after taking the bite, and digging his own spoon into the carton to feed to Troy. "A year ago, if you'd have told me that we were gonna be laying on a blanket in the park, feeding each other ice cream, I would've laughed in your face." Ryan chuckled. "I am so glad to be so wrong on that count."

The pair continued eating ice cream, occasionally feeding each other bites.

"I've got to be getting home, before too long," Ryan said, finally, after taking one last bite of Rocky Road and putting his spoon down. "I still have a little bit of homework left to do, for tomorrow."

Troy grimaced, but nodded. "I wish we could just stay here, forever," Troy said, softly but meaningfully. "I did bring one more thing, tonight," he added, reaching for the box again.

"Troy…" Ryan said, a tone of warning in his voice as he spotted the small box in his boyfriend's hands. "If that's what I think it is…"

Troy didn't reply, but instead opened the box to reveal a gold chain.

"If you've giving me a little necklace with a 'T' on it, I swear…" Ryan muttered.

"Not quite," Troy said, not offended at all at Ryan's response, but instead amused. The blonde had, on more than one occasion, given Troy shit for giving Gabriella a 'T for Troy' necklace. "It's just a golden chain," Troy explained. "Two of them, actually. I meant to do this last Friday night at the party, but things got a little hectic and I forgot. They're for our class rings. I thought maybe you'd want to wear mine, and, you know, I'd wear yours." Ryan merely raised an eyebrow. "You know, so we're like any old high school couple," Troy added, babbling a little.

"Like giving a girl your letter jacket to wear?" Ryan asked, coolly.

"Yes! I mean, no!" Troy backtracked. "Though I would've worn your letter jacket proudly," Troy added, his voice a little low. "I just thought… everybody except for Chad, Zeke, and the rest of our friends seem to act like we're some oddity of nature. Especially my dad. So I thought the class ring exchangy thing could be our way to show them that we're no different than the next couple."

Ryan considered Troy's words for a moment. "I guess this is the next best thing, since you won't get that tattoo on your ass that says 'Property of Ryan Evans' in hot pink," he finally said. Taking one of the gold chains, Ryan slipped his class ring off of his finger and threaded it through. Troy did the same for his, and before long he felt the cool feel of metal against his skin as Ryan's class ring rested there.

"So what gives, Bolton?" Ryan asked, as he absentmindedly toyed with Troy's class ring. "I'm starting to suspect that you're leading up to something, here. You organize this entire romantic picnic in the park, bring my favourite ice cream, and give me your class ring. Are you buttering me up for something?" He grinned, suddenly. "Did you tell the truth, earlier, and you cheated on me with Zeke or Chad? Or both of them together?"

"No!" Troy protested. "I just did all of this because I wanted to. I swear, I have no ulterior motives."

"Or guilt about your own father's reaction?" Ryan said, quietly. "You said in the beginning that you were determined to end the night on a good note. So was all of this just an apology for what he said?"

"Maybe a little," Troy confessed. "I swear I had this all planned out, for the most part, before you came over. I just wanted to do something nice for you; my dad may have caused me to go a little overboard."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Ryan said, firmly. "You're not responsible for what your father said, and I wouldn't dream of holding any of that against you." Scooting forward a little bit, Ryan kissed Troy on the lips. Troy could even taste the Rocky Road in Ryan's mouth, as he placed his hand behind Ryan's head to deepen the kiss. "It's not your fault," the blonde repeated, even as he continued to kiss Troy, pushing the brown-haired boy back towards the blanket.

Troy soon found himself on his back, with Ryan lying down beside him, as the two exchanged kisses as Ryan's finger trailed up and down Troy's chest.

"Not to interrupt the flow or anything," Troy said breathlessly, in between kisses, "but can I ask you a question?"

"You just did," Ryan pointed out. Grinning, he placed a kiss on Troy's nose.

"Fine, then I'm asking another one," Troy said, rolling his eyes. "It's about what you said earlier tonight."

"Which part?" Ryan asked, his fingers tracing around Troy's nipples.

"Are things really that bad at school?" Troy asked, hesitantly. "You mentioned at the mall that things are kinda dicey there, and you said the same thing tonight. I know you're trying to spare me the details, so that I don't worry, but I need to know. Please." Troy's tone was serious, as he regarded his boyfriend.

Ryan's hand stopped, as he seemed to be contemplating how to answer Troy's question, absentmindedly biting his lower lip. "I don't walk to my classes alone any more," Ryan finally confessed. "No matter where they are. At least one of our friends is in each of my classes, so I walk with them and pretend I'm doing it just to sociable. It's kinda… bad… at school, now. Has been, since all of East High found out that we're together. If it's not your random homophobes hating me for being myself… it's the people who resent me for corrupting the once-great Troy Bolton. That girl on Monday morning was a nice little boost… but she's in the minority. When I'm with you, it's ok, it doesn't bother me," Ryan said, shrugging. "And when I'm not with you, I try not to let it bother me. But it's hard, sometimes."

"I… I had no idea," Troy stuttered, his arms almost automatically pulling Ryan closer to himself. "I knew it was bad, just based on how they treated me, but I had no idea it was even worse for you. If I'd known, I would've…" 'Way to kill the mood there, Bolton,' he silently chastised himself. A romantic night in the park, and he was asking Ryan how many people at school hated him, basically.

"You would've nothing, Troy," Ryan interrupted him. "I don't regret any of this. I knew it would be tough for both of us, and probably even worse for me. I knew that getting into this. I didn't go into this blind, Troy. I knew that the student body would hate us, that my sister would resent us for a while… God, I even figured your father wouldn't take to me. Didn't prevent me from hoping for the best, but I was prepared for the worst."

"Doesn't make me worry about you any less," Troy responded.

"Don't go all overprotective on me now, Bolton," Ryan said, somewhat strongly. "I'm a grown-up, and I can take care of myself. I don't need Chad's Angels watching my every move. Makes me feel claustrophobic and paranoid."

"Well, what about our friends?" Troy persisted. "Just Chad, Zeke, Kelsi, Taylor, and Sharpay? Can't we keep on eye on you? Please, it would make me feel so much better."

"This isn't about making you feel better," Ryan said, a tad petulantly. "This is about me trying to live my life without Big Brother watching over me. Or Big Sister, as the case may be. Sharpay takes too much of an interest in my personal life, already. She may be my twin, but she takes it a bit too far, sometimes."

"At least consider it," Troy wheedled. "Otherwise, I'm gonna be running all around the school, making sure I'm standing in front of every one of your classes when they let out. Do you really want me doing that?"

"I already walk with those guys, anyway," Ryan protested. "What's the big deal if they don't know the precise reason why I do it? I mean, I'd probably walk with them, anyway. They're my friends."

"Please, just think about it," Troy said, conceding defeat at the moment, or at least a draw.

"Fine," Ryan said, pouting. "I don't think I'm gonna change my mind, though. I don't like being followed or watched by people. And if you tell the others, they're gonna treat me different, like I'm made of glass or something. I can take care of myself, Troy."

"I know, but I just got you," Troy said, his voice almost a whisper. "I don't want to lose you." His hand crept up, almost of its own volition, to his chest, as he clasped Ryan's class ring in his hand.

qpqp

Troy felt dead on his feet as he silently walked into his house, carrying the box. All the lights in the house were off, besides a small hall lamp that provided him just enough light to see by, and the lamp in Troy's room. Troy assumed that his parents were fast asleep, an assumption that was immediately proven false when he walked into his room and found his mother sitting on his bed, looking through an old photo album.

"Mom?" Troy asked, a little surprised.

Lucille Bolton immediately gasped and jumped a little, Troy's sudden arrival taking her by surprise. "Troy," she managed to say. "You scared me."

"Sorry," Troy said, looking a little guilty. He put the box down beside his computer desk, before addressing his mother's presence. "Why are you still up? I didn't want to make you stay up late on my account."

"I couldn't sleep, Troy," his mother said, closing the album but keeping it in her lap. "Could we talk for a moment?" She gestured to the spot beside her, on his bed.

"Sure, Mom," Troy said, immediately. He sat down beside her, silently.

"I was just looking through these old albums tonight," Lucille Bolton said, a hint of nostalgia in her voice. "I can't believe you're graduating in less than a month. Prom's coming up, and before I know it you'll be off to U of A, moving on with your life. You've grown up to be a strong, confident man. " She paused, before speaking again. "And yet, I can still remember how light you were when your father and I carried you from the hospital, in that little Redhawks onesie that your dad insisted you wear." She dabbed at a tear in her eye. "It feels like it was yesterday, that we were bringing you home, or when you took your first steps. How time flies."

Troy had no response to that, as he watched his mother fight back a few more tears. "You know, Troy, when you were little, and sleeping in your crib, I would just sit there and watch you sometimes," Lucille said, smiling a little. "I'd wonder what kind of man you'd become. I hoped that you'd find something in your life that would give you as much happiness as you brought into mine. Your father hoped you'd become the basketball star that he always wanted to be, but even he would agree with me that all we wanted was for you to have a great life."

"Mom…" Troy began, not sure how to respond. He'd known that his relationship with Ryan Evans was harder on her than she was letting on, but he hadn't realized just how hard it was.

"And I hoped that you would meet a nice girl, that you would love as much as I love your father," Mrs. Bolton said, in a rush, as if trying to get the words out fast, lest they not come out at all. "And grandchildren, that your father and I could spoil rotten." With that, Mrs. Bolton began silently crying again.

"Don't I get any say in this?" Troy managed to say this. "Shouldn't I be able to follow my own path in life?"

"Of course, Troy," Mrs. Bolton managed to say, taking Troy's hand and squeezing it hard. "I'm sorry, Troy, it's just a mother thing. I never expected you to fulfill every goal or dream I may have had for you. I guess I just hoped that your path would come close to the one I hoped and dreamed you'd take." Mrs. Bolton started choking up again. "But every time I see you with Ryan, or even when you're talking about him… I'm reminded of all those dreams that I thought about as you lay there in your crib, so little and helpless."

At this point, Troy was openly crying too, as he heard the raw pain in his mother's voice. "I'm sorry, Mom," Troy said, his voice choked with emotion. "I know you never wanted this for me. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. I tried to do the right thing, Mom, I really did. I thought if I was with Gabi long enough, I could learn to love her." Troy scrubbed his face with his hands, in a futile effort to stop the tears. "I tried to be who you wanted, Mom, I really did!" Troy covered his face with his hands, unable to continue.

"Troy…" Lucille Bolton said, softly, pulling his hands away from his face. "Do you really love Ryan that much?"

"I do," Troy managed to say, tears still streaming down. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. He's good to me."

"Then don't be sorry," Mrs. Bolton said, still crying, but her voice firm. "I could never condemn any relationship that made you as happy as I could have ever have hoped for you. Boy or girl… No matter what, Troy, I'll always love you."

"And Dad?" Troy asked, a tone of hurt in his voice.

"Your father has always wanted you to follow in his footsteps and achieve his own unfulfilled dreams," Lucille Bolton said, her tone a little sharper. "You two have been arguing so much lately… I think your father believes that you're doing all of this just to spite him. Turning your back on the NBA, dating Ryan… I'll keep working on him, though, honey. If Ryan loves you as much as I think he does, then I want him to feel as welcome here as he does at home. I may not ever have a daughter-in-law," and here her eyes got a little watery again, "but if I do end up with a son-in-law, I want him to know that he really is a part of our family."

"Thanks, Mom," Troy said, giving her a kiss on her cheek. "You have no idea what this means to me."

"Get some sleep, honey," Lucille Bolton said, as she got up from Troy's bed. "It's a school day, tomorrow." She walked to the doorway, before turning around. "And Troy?"

"Yeah, Mom?" Troy asked.

"Whether you're gay, straight, or whatever… you'll always have a home here," Mrs. Bolton said, firmly. "Always. You're our son, and you're always welcome here."

"I love you, Mom," replied Troy immediately, smiling at her. "Sleep well."

"You too, honey," Lucille said, before leaving Troy alone with all the thoughts swirling around his head. His phone buzzed, telling him he had a text message. Grabbing his phone out of his pocket, Troy quickly opened the text, smiling as he thought about the sender.

Just got home, said the text from Ryan. Have a good night, and have happy dreams of me. Love you.

Troy grinned even wider as he finished reading the text. He was dying to tell Ryan what his mother said, but all of that could wait till tomorrow. Those three little words, however, couldn't. And though a mere week ago Troy had had such problems saying them or even thinking about them, it was now the only thing that Troy could even possibly consider sending to Ryan. And as Troy quickly texted Ryan back, he once again felt the metal of Ryan's ring against his chest. And smiled as he thought about where his own class ring was. Man, he had it so bad.

qpqpqpqp

So, hope you enjoyed our newest installment of our boys' story! Most, if not all of Coach Bolton's preoccupation with Troy going to U of A, becoming a super star, and going onto the NBA was written pre-HSM3, which just proves that I'm not the only one who knows that Coach Bolton likes to plan out his son's whole life for him.

Coming next chapter, is a scene that I've been waiting to write for many, many chapters, and one that was supposed to be in this chapter, and the one before this one, as well. But we can't rush things, now can we?

I've noticed lots of people adding my story to their alert lists, lately. I'd love to hear from all of you about what you like about my story. And for all of my old fans? I always treasure your input!! Until next time!!

Squall Thrawn


	25. Hail to the Prom King, Or Possibly Queen

A/N: So, that took a little while, there. But between the holidays, me getting sicker than a dog for a while, and another project that I'm expending quite a bit of time in, it's been hard to devote time to this story. But never you worry! I'm still alive, still writing, and looking forward to Chapter 26. As will most of you when you realize what will happen then. And I've got another story coming down the pipeline, though it'll probably only be a one or two chapter story. It was all inspired by a dream I had about a month ago, and it should be fun.

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

qpqpqpqp

Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 25 - Hail to the Prom King (Or Possibly Queen)

To say that Troy was happy that this year's homeroom teacher wasn't Mrs. Darbus would have been an understatement. Whereas Darbus would've been loudly proclaiming the many virtues of theatre and any upcoming performances of any theatre in what seemed to be a 500 mile radius of Albuquerque, and woe to the person who didn't pay attention, Troy's current teacher seemed not to care whether he was awake or comatose.

Of which the latter case was closer to truth. By the time Troy had finished texting Ryan the night before- he truly had meant to keep his communications with his boyfriend to a few short, but heartfelt messages, but had ended up spending almost an hour texting back and forth with him as they both finished their homework- it had been far too late to get those eight hours that every growing boy needs. And that was even before the unpleasant dreams that had kept Troy tossing and turning all night. Ryan, of course, had been disgustingly perky and cheerful upon arriving at Troy's locker, causing Troy to secretly debate on how to trade his boyfriend in for a different model that wasn't a morning person.

"Troy!" Chad called out, pulling on his friend's sleeve.

"Wha?" Troy asked as he groggily sat up, a piece of paper sticking to his cheek. He quickly pulled it off, looking around in bewilderment.

"Dude, homeroom's over," Chad said, not quite disguising a smirk. "What's with the zombie routine today? Did your parents let Ryan stay the night or something? Did Troy get his freak on, last night?"

"Hardly," Troy said, rolling his eyes, as he got up out of his seat and stretched a little. "My dad wants me to go back in the closet and dump Ryan, and my mother told me that she wished that I'd get married and give them grandchildren. So sleepovers at the Bolton household will be a long time coming."

"Well, that sucks," was Chad's response. The two of them began walking out of the classroom, joining the crush of students heading towards their first period classes. "Well, at least you've got something to celebrate."

"What do you mean?" Troy asked, confused.

"Dude! Did you miss the announcements, too?" Chad asked, amazed. "You were nominated for Prom King! You're competing against yours truly!" he added, smirking. "Oh, and some non-basketballer nobodies."

"And to think you've called Ryan a snob," Troy observed. "So Ryan didn't get a nomination?" he continued, hiding his slight disappointment.

"Nope," Chad said, shaking his head. "Sharpay was nominated for Queen, though." He shuddered. "For once, this is a contest I wouldn't mind losing. You realize that I would have to dance an entire song with her Royal Ice Princess-ship?"

"That's not even a real word," Troy chided him. "No wonder you're always failing English." Reaching his locker, Troy opened it and took out a book he'd forgotten to grab earlier. A folded-up note fell out of the locker.

"Evans sending you love notes, now?" Chad asked, sounding equal parts amused and disgusted. "You guys are getting to be too much."

"It's not from Ryan," Troy said, upon reading the note. He hid a momentary grimace with a smile that Chad didn't seem to recognize as a fake. "This handwriting is way too messy, and I doubt he'd sign the note with 'Your secret admirer.' He makes no secret of how much he admires me," he added, exaggeratingly flexing his muscles.

"Barf," Chad replied succinctly. "Then let's see the note!"

Troy just pocketed it, keeping his smile. "It's just the usual spiel," he said, re-entering the crowd to head to his first period class. "They think I'm the best, and want to do naughty things to my body. You've seen the ones I used to get from girls, even when I was with Gabriella."

"But now you're getting them from guys?" Chad asked, laughing a little. "Only you, Troy. Ryan gets a misspelled insult painted on his locker, and you just get notes from lovestruck boys."

Troy had frowned at the reminder of that first day, and that horrible word painted on Ryan's locker for all the world to see. Not to mention the admission he had been able to coax out of Ryan about the difficult time he was having at East High. And he definitely wasn't going to mention what the note in his hand really said. "You wouldn't be able to keep an eye on him for me, would you?" Troy asked, his voice serious. "I'm a little worried about Ryan; he's said he's still having problems with the student body."

"You don't even have to ask," Chad said, giving Troy a pointed look, as if offended that Troy even felt the need to bring it up. "I already do; I remember that guy from the mall. Zeke knows about that guy, too. So do Kelsi and Taylor. Your boyfriend is safe with us."

"Can you do it a little bit more discreetly than before?" Troy asked, his frown twisting into a little smile. "Ryan doesn't enjoy it when we watch him like a hawk- you know how independent he is." Troy's voice was almost fond, even though he disagreed with Ryan's adamant dislike for people keeping an eye on him. If Troy had his way, Ryan wouldn't even be allowed out in public- too dangerous.

"Aye, aye, sir!" Chad mock-saluted him, his wide grin spoiling the serious tone. Then he changed the subject. "So, are you doing anything Saturday night?"

"Not so far," Troy said, shrugging. "I usually leave my weekends free in case Ryan wants to do something."

"Well, do you think he'd mind if we borrowed you for a night?" Chad pressed him. "The UFC fight is Saturday night, and Zeke's invited a bunch of people over to watch it. Mainly the guys from the team. It would be great to have one last get-together, just us Wildcats, before we graduate."

"Meaning no Ryan?" Troy raising an eyebrow. "Leaving him out again?"

"Hey, if you think your boyfriend is a fan of ultimate fighting, go ahead and bring him along," Chad said, holding his hands up in surrender. "I just figured it probably wouldn't be his thing."

"It isn't," Troy said, knowingly. "He's made his opinions about what he calls pointless fighting rather well-known. Trust me- he'll say no."

"So whadda say, Troy?" Chad asked, pleadingly. "For old times' sake?"

"Pencil me in," Troy said, after a moment's thought. "I'm gonna make sure Ryan doesn't have some big plans for me, first, but barring that, I'm in."

"Yes!" Chad said, pumping his arm. "Bolton's the man!"

"Bolton's a fuckin' fag!" yelled out a voice from somewhere in the crowd.

"Who said that?" Chad demanded, wheeling about. "Fuckin' show yourself, coward."

"Chad, calm down," Troy said, tugging on Chad's arm. "We have to get to class."

"Dude, how can you just let that go?" Chad asked, incredulously. "That's not cool."

"Same way Ryan shrugged it off on Saturday," Troy said, smiling a little. "You don't let the idiots get to you." Then he dropped the smile, his shoulders slumping slightly. "I'm working on that part. It stills hurt, you know. I'm not sure I'll ever get used to that." He looked back, briefly, regretting not going back to find out who the homophobe was. "I try to follow Ryan's example, but I have no idea how he can be so unaffected by that sort of thing." He absentmindedly touched the class ring around his neck, once again. "I just don't understand how people can be so hateful, sometimes. They don't know me, they don't know Ryan. But somehow they can justify hating us that much."

"That's society for you," Chad said, shrugging.

"Meaning you can't change it?" Troy said, a little heat in his voice. First his mother, and now Chad?

"Meaning you can't expect it to change by itself," Chad corrected him, his voice a little louder. "You've got to fight for it. That's what Taylor says, anyway. You and Evans have been a bad influence on her, you know."

"Really? How so?" Troy asked, a little surprised.

"Well, Tay's always been aiming for law school, and I always figured she'd turn that into some important government job or something," Chad said, shrugging. "But now because of the two of you, she's starting to get involved in social activism. She's been calling me all week about the upcoming prom, and what she's had to do to 'remove the bias from an age-old institution that has become rotten at its core and should be completely overhauled.' I don't know what the fuck she was talking about, to tell you the truth. School's almost over, for crying out loud!" The two boys entered their first period class, a class that Troy also shared with his ex-girlfriend, Gabi. She kept her eyes focussed on the front, though, as if she hadn't noticed Troy's entrance. Which was basically the same thing she'd been doing ever since their little agreement last week- Troy wholly approved.

"So you don't know what all prompted all of this?" Troy pressed Chad, still curious. "Did Taylor give you any hints?"

"Not really," Chad said, shaking his head. "But like I said, I think it has something to do with prom."

The bell rang before Troy could say anything else, and the teacher, who was already standing by the chalkboard was a strong hint that Troy wasn't going to find out any more about Taylor's new interests from Chad. No matter. He'd ask her at lunch.

qpqp

"So how's my soon-to-be Prom King doing?" Troy quickly turned around as he heard his boyfriend's familiar tones. It was a beautiful day, and Ryan had suggested the two of them meeting at the rooftop garden for free period. Ryan was standing there with his usual smile on his face, his messenger bag laying off to the side.

"I am deeply touched to be granted this honour, and I would like to thank all of those little people that got me to where I am now," Troy said, doing his best Oscar speech impersonation. "First of all, my publicist, my agent, and my mother and father. Chad Danforth, my brother from another mother, and my buddy Zeke Baylor. And I couldn't possibly leave out Taylor McKessie, whose presence on the Student Council allowed me to be on the prom king ballot, and insured that none of you peons would win. And… that's it."

Troy received a slap upside his head for that one. "Forgetting anybody, Hilary?" Ryan said, threading his fingers through Troy's own. "I thought I was your muse and inspiration, and all that crap. And I am so much better looking than Chad Lowe."

"Oh, ok," Troy said, as if pretending to give in. "And finally to Ryan Evans, for being my 'and all that crap.' I couldn't have done it without him." He received another slap for that one.

"You're a mean one this morning, Bolton," Ryan said sternly, trying to glare at his boyfriend but failing miserably.

"Well, somebody didn't let me get any sleep last night," Troy pointed out as he sat down on a nearby bench. Ryan sat down as well. "I was so tired I actually slept through homeroom; Chad had to tell me about the nominations." He paused for a moment, before continuing in a softer voice. "He did mention that you, umm…"

"I didn't get a nomination," Ryan finished for him. "You sound surprised, Troy; I'm not. I knew the Student Council would find some more upstanding members of the student body that they could nominate. Well, not so much upstanding as straight."

"What about me?" Troy pointed out.

"What about you?" Ryan asked, as if bewildered by the very question. "You didn't think that the great Troy Bolton would actually be snubbed, did you? I'd say you've been on the ballot for the past two years, just waiting for our senior Prom to come around." Ryan's smile was sad. "Different standards, Troy. You're a sports jock, I'm a drama geek."

"Still…" Troy wasn't willing to concede the point, yet. "You deserved it. Way more than… whoever it was that was nominated instead of you."

"What we deserve, and what we end up getting, aren't usually the same thing," Ryan said, his expression more resigned than anything. Then he forced a smile back on his face. "Did you know that they actually suggested putting me on the ballot for Prom Queen? That was Taylor's idea, actually. Can you believe it?"

"Well, if you and I both won," Troy said, trying to see the bright side of that, "that would be alright. Wouldn't it?"

"And if I won and you lost?" Ryan asked. "I'm sure Chad would love to have me on his arm." Then he giggled. "It would almost be worth it to see the look on his face. But I made a promise, so I told them not to consider me."

"Who did you promise?" Troy asked, confused.

"My sister, of course," Ryan said, the tone of his voice telling Troy that he really should've guessed that. "That was one of the caveats for her allowing me to date you. I really didn't want to be known as the Prom Queen of East High, so it was an easy promise to make. By the same token, Sharpay doesn't want to be known as the girl who was beaten by her own brother for the title of Prom Queen. Which she should win easily, considering the fact that she has no real competition. I mean, who would actually vote for Gabriella, when there are all those scandals surrounding her? I can't believe the Student Council actually nominated her; Taylor has some explaining to do."

Troy didn't respond, as he was still reeling for that unexpected bit of news. Why hadn't Chad told him that Gabi was one of the other nominees?

"Troy?" Ryan's voice was worried.

With an effort, Troy brought himself back to the here and now. "Sorry," Troy said, his tone apologetic. "You just surprised me; Chad didn't mention that Gabi was nominated. Does that mean that I might end up stuck with her as my Prom Queen?"

"Not if Shar and I have anything to do about it," Ryan said, fervently. "You're my boyfriend, and that bitch isn't getting her hands anywhere near you."

"Thank God," Troy said, giving the blonde a kiss on the lips. "Right now she's pretending she doesn't know me, which suits me just fine." He gave Ryan another kiss. "You're the only one who gets to put their hands on me."

"Remind me to thank my lucky stars," Ryan said, smirking. "I, on the other hand, have to put up with the clumsy fumblings of a sports jock who's all hands."

"I'll show you 'all hands,' Evans," Troy said, devilishly grinning as he reached towards Ryan.

"Later, Troy," Ryan said, his eyes full of promise. "That sounds like the sort of thing we wouldn't want to rush."

"So, Chad invited me to a UFC viewing party at Zeke's house," Troy said, changing the subject. "You're welcome to come too, of course. I told him that wasn't your thing, though."

"Good call," Ryan said, nodding. "It's really not my thing. But you should go; I don't want to monopolize all your time."

"Chad understands," Troy replied, shrugging. "He knows how it is with new relationships. But thanks, Ryan. Chad said that it would be like the last time that all the Wildcats would be together, and as team captain, I wouldn't want to disappoint them by not showing up."

"Ah, yes. Troy Bolton, goody two-shoes extraordinaire," Ryan said, dryly. "Instead of just saying that you were going to attend this party to hang out with your buddies, you make it sound like by not attending, you're letting your team, your school, and possibly the whole world down."

"Why you gotta hate," Troy complained.

"So, what night is this party of yours?" Ryan asked, ignoring Troy's comment.

"Saturday night," Troy said, smiling apologetically. "I know you usually like to do couple-y things on the weekends; that's why I haven't given Chad an answer yet."

"Hmm…," Ryan said, as if considering it a moment. "I guess it won't interfere with too much." He gave Troy a slight smile. "It's fine, Troy. Go have your fighting party. Just promise me you won't do any fighting of your own."

"Oh God, what did I do wrong, now," Troy said, groaning. "You're giving me the selfless martyr routine; that tells me that you had something planned, and I've managed to fuck it up. Again."

"Did I really do that big of a number on you?" Ryan said, his eyes wide in surprise. "Fuck, I must've messed you around more than I thought. I am so, so sorry." He took one of Troy's hands in both of his own. "I promise, Troy, I'm not going to just fly off the handle over silly little things. It wouldn't be right of me to plan things for you without telling you, then get mad because you made other plans. It comes from being an Evans," Ryan said, ruefully. "And spending all of my life with Sharpay."

"So you did have something planned?" Troy asked, still a little worried, but not as much as before. It was obvious that Ryan had meant it when they got back together at the party, that he was going to work on communicating his problems with Troy.

"My dad wanted to know if you wanted to join him for golf on Sunday morning," Ryan explained, smiling at Troy. "We were all going to spend the day at Lava Springs. But my dad likes to golf hella early on Sundays, so I thought maybe you'd want to spend the night with me, so that it would be easier for all of us."

"Is that the only reason why you want me to spend the night?" Troy asked, his eyebrow arched.

"No," Ryan said, plainly. "I can think of all sorts of reasons for you to stay the night." Then he smiled suggestively, a look that travelled right down to Troy's crotch.

"What… what if I come over Friday night?" Troy managed to suggest, his voice a little hoarse. "You know, dinner, movies, the whole she-bang. And… whatever else you have planned," he added.

"What about the golfing?" Ryan asked, frowning a little. "My dad was really hoping you'd join him."

"I don't have to go to the UFC party," Troy pointed out. "I'm sure Chad would understand."

"Yes, you do," Ryan insisted, firmly. "Do you know what destroys more new relationships than anything else? Lack of balance, Troy. You have to balance your new boyfriend with your old friends and life."

"Ryan, you were becoming a major part of my old life, even before we got together," Troy pointed out. "And we spend plenty of time with Chad and Zeke already. I mean, remember Friday night and all day Saturday?"

"That's different," Ryan argued. "Please, Troy… Just go and watch your fighting show. Trust me, you spend some time hanging out with those guys, and you'll see what I mean." Ryan gently caressed Troy's cheek. "We'll have fun on Friday night."

"And what about your dad?" Troy wanted to know. "You said he was looking forward to having a decent golfing partner."

"We have the entire summer," Ryan reminded him. "I'm sure you'll be able to fit some golf in there, somewhere." He waved it off, carelessly.

'Yeah, right,' Troy wanted to say. 'Maybe I'll find enough time for golf in between the caddying and the food serving.' Maybe this was the right time to ask Ryan about that, actually. "I--" Troy started, but Ryan was already talking.

"How long will your party last?" Ryan asked, looking and sounding like he'd come up with an absolutely brilliant idea.

"Dunno," Troy said, shrugging. "Depends on how long the fights last, and how many people are at the party. Could be late." Foiled again. Why hadn't he brought the summer thing up last night? Or Sunday?

"Oh," Ryan said, visibly deflating. "I was just going to say… if it wasn't too late, you could party with the guys, and then just drive over and spend the night with me. That way you'd be able to golf with my dad tomorrow." Ryan smiled ruefully. "Don't worry about it, though. If you think it's gonna be a late night, that's ok. Some other time, then."

"I could leave the party early," Troy said, not willing to drop the idea completely. Whatever Ryan said, it was obvious that this little outing involving Troy and Mr. Evans, was important to him. Probably had something to do with last night's fiasco with Troy's own parents.

"Troy, you'll be drinking," Ryan countered, frowning. "I don't want you driving if you're drunk."

"I won't drink that much," Troy assured him. "Or I'll do my drinking early, so that I'm sobered up by the time the fights are over. Then I can head over."

"The whole point of this was to spend more time with your team," Ryan said, crossly. "It sorta defeats the point if you leave early and don't drink with your friends."

"I'll have plenty of time to hang out with them," Troy assured Ryan. "We've had these UFC nights before, and half the people leave after the last fight. So that's not a big deal. And we're guys, Ryan," Troy said, smirking. "They're not going to judge me if I leave early to get a little action from my better half."

"At least we can agree on one point," Ryan replied, nodding his head. "I _am_ the better half." He sighed. "You win, though. I'll tell my dad that you'll most likely be joining him on Sunday morning. But," and here he pointed his finger accusingly at Troy. "If you're too tired or drunk to drive, you're staying at Zeke's. I will not have you driving the streets of Albuquerque totally smashed. I like you better in one piece."

Troy just smiled. "And I like you better when you're in my arms, and not halfway across town wondering if I'm ever going to come over. I won't be too late, I promise."

"And Friday night?" Ryan asked, letting his finger trail down Troy's chest suggestively. "Are we still on for that?"

"God, yes," Troy said, shivering. "You couldn't keep me away from that."

qpqp

"So, Ryan actually let you off the leash?" Chad asked Troy, as if he couldn't believe his ears. They slowly made their way through the lunch line, grabbing the occasional item. "Remind me to thank him, later."

"You're exaggerating," Troy complained, putting a fruit parfait on his tray. "Ryan's totally not possessive or anything like that. He was totally sold on the idea of me hanging out with the basketball team."

"Yeah, I believe that," Chad said, raising his eyebrows. "What do you think he'd do if I told him about those notes you've been receiving in your locker today? Don't think I didn't see that second one just before we came to lunch."

Troy resisted the urge to panic; Ryan couldn't find out about the notes. "Don't worry about the notes, Chad," he said, trying to keep his voice calm. "I'll tell Ryan later. We'll just have a nice lunch, and I'll discuss it with him, later. Ok?"

Chad looked suspicious, but Troy was relieved when Chad didn't question him any further, and simply gave him a curt nod. "Don't hurt him," was Chad's surprising answer, before that ready grin reappeared on his face. "I don't want to have to play matchmaker, again. My reputation took a beating for that one."

"Don't worry," Troy said, reassuringly. "I've got everything under control. The two boys reached their usual table, where Zeke and Kelsi were already sitting. They both sat down, Troy making sure there was still plenty of room for Ryan to sit next to him.

"Hey, Troy!" Zeke said, as cheerful as ever. "Kelsi was just telling me about this song she wrote, with you and Ryan in mind. I don't know music, but the idea sounds pretty cool."

"It's sort of like Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture," Kelsi explained excitedly, as she dug out the sheet music. "Only not nearly so long. See, I came up with a theme for you, and another theme for Ryan. And just like the Overture, I'll intersperse the two throughout most of the song, and then end with a big climax."

"Well, that sounds like our nights together," Ryan said, grinning as he sat down beside Troy. "They always end with a big climax."

Troy could see both Chad and Zeke squirming at that comment, but neither of them said anything. "Hey, babe," Troy said, his voice full of happiness, before giving Ryan a kiss on the cheek. "It feels like it's been ages since I've seen you."

"A whole two hours, maybe," Chad muttered.

"What was that, Chad?" Troy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, Evans, you totally rock for letting Troy party with us, Saturday night," Chad said loudly, evading Troy's question. "I'd totally invite you along, but Troy said you weren't a fight fan."

"Yeah, thanks but no thanks," Ryan said, distastefully. "I got my fill of fighting in that shower room with those football players. Don't care to witness any more than that."

Troy had gotten another one of those guilty twinges at the mention of that day, though Ryan had long since forgiven him. Ryan seemed to have noticed Troy's reaction, too, as he grabbed Troy's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Can you believe the nerve of the principal?" Taylor said, practically slamming her tray down. She sounded pissed off. "I can't believe he actually made good on his threat. Does he not even care about the decisions made by the Student Body Government?" Then she stopped abruptly, taking in all the faces of everybody sitting at the table, their mouths agape. "Sorry," she said, sheepishly. "I'm a little pissed off. You should've heard me in the Chemistry room this morning, when they made the announcements." She said down at the table, as Chad let off a sigh of relief.

"You're talking about the Prom King and Queen nominations?" Troy asked, his interest piqued. "I was going to-"

"Can you believe we're still using those offensive terms?" Taylor demanded, talking right over Troy. "King and Queen? Might as well say 'welcome to prom, if you're not straight, you don't have a place in our Prom Court.' I swear," she continued, "if I wasn't going to prom with Ben from the academic decathlon team, I'd be tempted to find a girl to go with, just to protest. Of course, I didn't want to be nominated for Prom Queen anyway, but I think I should have the opportunity, anyway." She turned to Troy. "Don't you think so, Troy?"

"Er… yes?" Troy hazarded, hoping that was the right answer.

"Taylor," Ryan said, in a firm voice. The black girl started at his voice. "Could you please inform the rest of us what, exactly, happened? This is like getting the Cliff Notes version."

"Oh…" Taylor managed a slight blush, but plunged on. "Last week, we on the Student Council voted on the nominations for Prom King and Queen. The idea is that we're supposed to know the eight most popular people in our class, and put them on the ballot. Four for each gender. Usually the president has a lot of say in the matter, so I put forth yours, Troy's, and Chad's names for Prom King. And," Taylor added, "I put in Sharpay's name in for Prom Queen. We may not get along, but I thought she deserved the nomination."

"Thanks, Taylor," Ryan said, nodding. "She'll appreciate that."

"I just wished you would've let me put you down for Prom Queen," Taylor said, shaking her head. "It would've served Principal Matsui right if the two of you had won. Democracy in action!"

"I couldn't break a promise," Ryan answered, shrugging. "Especially when the other person is somebody that you live with, and who will take immediate revenge upon you."

"Well, I thought things were going well, and then Matsui stepped in," Taylor said, scowling. "He almost never attends our meetings; he usually doesn't care about what we decide. But he told he just wanted to sit through this one, so that he could 'see our even-handed decision-making process.' What a bunch of bullshit," she snapped, leaving Troy shocked at her language. "He didn't actually tell us not to choose Ryan, but he made it clear that one gay candidate for Prom King was enough, and perhaps even too much. Even he couldn't really refuse to put your name on the ballot, though, Troy," Taylor said, looking grimly satisfied. "Being the premier jock of East High has its perks, and he couldn't really come up with a decent excuse to exclude you."

"So you nominated another boy?" Ryan guessed, looking like he'd eaten something sour. Troy patted his leg, soothingly, giving him a reassuring smile.

"We certainly did not," Taylor said, proudly. "Like I said, I hold a lot of sway in Student Council, and despite a certain member's muttering about a number of nasty rumours about the two of you, I managed to get both of you, and Chad, on the ballot."

"What happened to Ryan's nomination, then?" Troy asked, fiercely, his lunch long forgotten.

"The principal had nice long talk with my vice president after the meeting," Taylor said, darkly. "He's the one who was repeating those rumours. He told Matsui about the boy who came in fifth, and that's who got your nomination, Ryan. That's when he used the line that he, as the principal, had final say in things, and that we were just students. It's bullshit, is what it is." Taylor stabbed her fork into her food, angrily.

"What about Gabi?" Chad asked, looking almost afraid to be asking at all.

Taylor just rolled her eyes. "A couple of people brought her name up, and it just wasn't worth the fight to take her name out of consideration. After all, I couldn't really repeat those rumours about her, even if I knew that a couple of them were true, since I'd just argued that nasty and malicious rumours shouldn't be used against Troy and Ryan."

"Taylor?" Troy waited until it looked like the girl was done venting. "Umm… thanks for everything you did. Even if the principal fucked everything up, Ryan and I still appreciate how much you fought for us." Ryan fervently nodded his agreement.

Taylor's look softened. "You're welcome, you two," she said. "You deserve all the rights that we straight people have. I know Prom King and Queen really aren't all that important in the scheme of things, but for just one moment… I thought I could at least use what little power I have as Student Body President to ensure that gay couples are just as welcome to our prom as straight couples. That our democratically elected Student Council stands for equality, and diversity. Troy was pretty much guaranteed a nomination, no matter what, so he doesn't really count."

"Thanks, Taylor," Troy said, sarcastically. "That makes me feel all warm inside."

"Don't worry, Troy, you matter to me," Ryan said, smiling at his boyfriend. They briefly kissed, as Chad and Zeke both looked away.

"You know what I mean," Taylor said, shrugging a bit. "Like I said, Troy was a foregone conclusion, and I was afraid that people might try to sweep the gay issue under the rug. Nominating Ryan would prevent that possibility."

"Well, I hate to disagree with you, Taylor," Ryan said, apologetically, "but I think that Troy's nomination should be the only issue. Don't get me wrong," he added, defensively, "I appreciate your efforts, and it sucks that my rightful nomination with blocked. They say it's good to be the king, and I _would_ look fabulous in that crown… but you're missing the point. The point is not to push forward a gay candidate, but to push forward a candidate that people can rally behind, regardless of his sexuality. If Troy wins, it won't be just because he's gay. He'll be the prom king of East High, who happens to be gay."

"Hmm," Taylor tapped her finger to her lips, considering Ryan's words. "You could have a point. Troy winning would be a much bigger statement than your nomination, Ryan, and it wouldn't be just an empty gesture." Taylor looked thrilled at the new direction, completely forgetting the fact that she had been the one pushing said empty gesture.

"Plus, I'll be in the spotlight almost as much as Troy," Ryan said, grinning. "I'll be the prom king's date, and while that's not quite the same exalted position as king, I'll take it. Besides, who wouldn't want to be escorted by East High's hottest senior?"

"Me," Chad immediately replied, rolling his eyes.

"So, let's talk strategy," Taylor said, pulling out a small notebook from her purse. "I'm not leaving anything up to chance; if Troy's win is what it takes to make a statement, then we've got to do what we can to help him win."

Troy sighed and put his head down on the lunch table, already sick of hearing about the prom. He just wanted to have a low-key prom, or as much as he could when he had Ryan Evans, another male, as his date. As Ryan had indicated, there was a lot of good that could be done, a statement that should be said, by Troy's winning of the prom king title. But remembering painted lockers, angry remarks and stares, and notes that Ryan could never know about it… Sometimes Troy just wished they could be just a regular couple. No special attention paid to them, or anything of the sort. And whereas most boyfriends would've probably welcomed quiet and not making a fuss, Troy wasn't nearly so lucky- Ryan would probably relish the fight.

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Troy leaned against his locker, closing his eyes slowly as he waited for his boyfriend. Today had been an absolutely exhausting day; it was all prom this, and prom that. And Taylor obsessed with making sure he clinched the title of Prom King.

"Sleeping again, Bolton?" Chad asked, his voice amused. Troy reluctantly opened his eyes back up, to acknowledge his best friend.

"I have to get the sleep in while I can," Troy replied, ruefully. "None of our teachers would let me catch up on my sleep, and Ryan wants us to study together at his place," he explained, sighing. "I just want to drive home and take a nap, and he wants to have a study date."

"Why don't you just tell him you're too tired?" Chad asked, shrugging. "It's his fault you didn't get enough sleep, anyway. Where is Evans, anyway? Thought you weren't gonna let him out of your sight?" Chad added, narrowing his eyes.

"I wasn't, but Taylor commandeered him and started talking prom again," Troy complained, rolling his eyes. "As soon as that subject came up, I told Ryan I had to grab something out of my locker right then, and I was outta there."

"What's your problem with prom?" Chad asked. "It's just another one of those stupid dances that we go to, every year."

"It's more than that, Chad," Troy replied, wearily. "At least, now it is. After all that time Gabi and I spent talking about how perfect our prom was going to be, when we broke up I was going to give prom a wide berth. Especially when I started dating Ryan, because I never thought I'd be out of the closet by the time prom rolled around. But then I came out, and Ryan expected me to take him, and I couldn't very well say no, could I? I know this senior prom thing means so much to him," Troy said, smiling despite himself. "But now this Prom King thing? It's too much. And I know that that will be all Ryan's gonna talk about tonight, when we're studying. Prom this, and prom that, and how great we'll look together in our prom pictures, and how wonderful it'll be to have East High's gay poster boy and primo athlete as the new prom king. Is it too much to ask for, for Ryan and I to have a quiet prom where nobody gives us a second glance?!" Troy asked, plaintively.

"Yes," Chad answered, after thinking about it for a second. "You're not just dating another guy, you're dating an Evans. Sorry, Troy, but you should've known what you were getting into."

"You're right, I should've," Troy agreed, a little bitterly.

"What's gotten into you?" Chad asked, bluntly. "Sometimes, I swear, Troy, you're like two different people. One minute you're the proud boyfriend of Ryan Evans, and the other it sounds like you regret the whole idea."

"That's not true, Chad," Troy strongly protested. "If there's one thing I don't regret, it's being with Ryan. It's just… I kinda impulsively rushed into all this, without realizing everything that was going to happen, as a result of being with him. It's just a bit overwhelming at times." Troy sighed, a slightly melancholic expression crossing his face. "It's nothing I could even begin to prepare myself for. I mean, yeah, when I started going out with Gabi, my life did change somewhat. I started singing in musicals, we made friends with the drama kids and the brainiacs."

"Your point being?" Chad asked, looking a little lost.

"All of that changed for me, but it was all little changes," explained Troy. "I mean, dating Gabi meant less time spent with my friends, and singing took time away from practice and you guys as well. But my little corner of the world was still intact." Troy ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Now I'm not even sure where my corner of the world is. Ryan Evans came crashing through my world like a meteorite, and I've yet to find all the pieces; I don't even know where to begin, on putting them back together again. My father won't talk to me now, my mother still cries sometimes when she thinks I'm not looking. My basketball future is up in the air, one of my childhood friends fucked my girlfriend behind my back, and I can't even walk down the school hallways without getting weird looks!"

"What the fuck brought this all on?" Chad asked, equal parts confused and angry. "You can't fuckin' tell me that it's all because of prom."

"Prom's just one thing too many," Troy said, his voice soft. "I'm just tired of being thrust into the spotlight, not when I'm still trying to figure things out. How I'm going to patch up my relationship with my parents, what my future is going to be… The last thing I need is a lot of hustle and bustle about a silly title that'll mean nothing in the end."

"Ok, you need to be telling all of this to Ryan, not me," Chad said, after considering Troy's words for a moment. "I mean, I assume you guys don't spend all that time together having…" Chad blushed as if apparently the word sex, and Troy and Ryan, didn't mesh up together in his mind. "Please tell me you do more than that."

"Gutter brain," Troy chastised Chad. "Yes, Chad, we don't spend all of our time… having sex," he added in a louder tone, which provoked more wincing and blushing from Chad. "But it's different, when we're together. When I'm with Ryan, none of this stuff seems to matter that much to me. Last night, my father all but said he wouldn't be able to accept me if I was openly gay. But when I was with Ryan, afterwards, all I could think about was reassuring him, and telling him that it wasn't his fault."

"Then why can't you do that here at school?" Chad shrugged, as if shrugging off the difficulty of that.

"It's harder, here," Troy confessed. "When I'm with Ryan at school, it's easier for me to tune it out. It's still there, but it doesn't matter as much. He gives me the strength to keep going. But I can't always have Ryan here, holding my hand. I have to be able to deal with this, on my own. But the load keeps getting bigger, and I don't know how much longer I can keep carrying it."

"Especially with the 'secret admirer' notes you've been getting?" Chad asked, pointedly. "The ones you've been hiding from Ryan?"

"What about those notes?" Troy asked, trying to stall. Maybe Ryan would come around the corner and save him from this conversation. Strange, when only a few minutes ago Troy would've given anything for Ryan to not come around the corner and hear what Troy and Chad were discussing.

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong," Chad said, pulling something out of his back pocket, "but most notes left by secret admirers have things like 'I love you' or 'Troy Bolton, I want to have your baby.' This is the first one I've read where the main message consists of," and here Chad unfolded the paper he had pulled out of his pocket, "'you and your blonde bitch are going to burn in hell.' That's not a very nice thing to say, you know." Chad sighed. "Why didn't you tell me you were getting these notes?"

"Because they're not important," Troy insisted. "Just stupid people, saying stupid things."

"Things like?" Chad asked.

"Like I said, it's not important," Troy said, trying to avoid answering. Chad just kept staring at him, though, as if trying to bore a hole through Troy's head. "Okay!" Troy finally gave in. "It was just stupid stuff, like 'get the fuck out of here, you homo' or 'queers don't belong here.' Then there was the one I got right before lunch, which actually waxed eloquent. 'All dogs may go to heaven, but all fags go to hell. That makes you worse than a dog, Bolton.' Not exactly what I would've expected from some dumb homophobic jock." Troy sighed. "Ryan and I have been getting these, occasionally, since we came out."

"But four in one day?" Chad persisted. "Unless you're holding out on me, Bolton," he added, darkly.

"Nope," Troy said, lying easily. Chad need never know about the last note; it would just freak him out. And if he admitted to the existence of it, Chad would just insist on hearing what it said, too.

"Four notes, though, eh?" Chad asked, still concerned. "That's a lot for one day, though, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Troy admitted.

"Is that why you're so freaked out about prom?" Chad pressed him. "It's not just all the other stuff you mentioned… you're worried, aren't you? Worried about Evans."

"Very worried." Troy's voice was so soft, Chad had to strain to hear him. "If I hadn't been the number one candidate for prom king, we would've been okay. We would've done our turns on the dance floor, and cut out early before the end of the dance. Now, because of Taylor's grand campaign, we'll be a spectacle in front of everybody at that dance. If something happens to Ryan because of me, I'll…"

"What are you talking about, Troy?" Ryan's voice was clear and strong, but worried. Troy turned to see the concerned face of his boyfriend as Ryan approached him.

"Nothing," Troy said, automatically. He attempted a smile for Ryan, hoping the blonde hadn't heard his comments. The last thing he wanted to do was to worry Ryan. "It's no big deal, Ryan. You ready?" he asked, picking up his book bag.

"Almost," Ryan said, glancing from Troy to Chad. "You really aren't going to tell me what you were talking about?" he finally asked, sounding a little sad to Troy's ears. "I know it's something big, or the two of you wouldn't look so grim." Then he spotted the note that Chad was still clenching in his hand. "What is that?" he demanded.

Troy shot Chad a frantic look.

"It's a… love note!" Chad managed to say, talking fast. "Yeah! I got this in my locker today, and I was just showing it to Troy. The girl who left it seemed kinda desperate, though, and I'm not sure I'm down with going with somebody I don't know at all."

"A love note, eh?" Ryan asked, raising his eyebrow. "That's interesting." He shifted his messenger bag around on his shoulder. "Because it looked a little to me like those notes that people have been leaving in my locker, lately. You know the ones, Troy," he added. "But hey, I'd take a love note over hate mail any day." He motioned with his head for Troy to come with him. "I'll see you later, Danforth. Good luck with your admirer."

"See ya, Evans, Bolton," Chad managed to say, throwing a worried glance at Troy. "Have fun tonight."

Troy and Ryan walked in silence for a time, though Troy could tell that Ryan kept giving him curious glances, as if waiting for Troy to tell him what was really going on.

"So, you'll just follow me to my place?" Ryan said, as they reached their cars. "Unless, of course, you don't feel like studying, anymore."

"I'm sorry," Troy blurted out. "I just didn't want to worry you about those stupid notes; you seemed bothered enough by the ones you were getting. I didn't want to add to that."

"But you're my boyfriend, Troy," Ryan unnecessarily reminded him. "I want to know these things. I don't like it when you keep things like hate mail from me, when I know that it bothers you way more than you'll ever admit to me." He frowned. "Especially when you're willing to tell Chad, but not me."

"I didn't tell Chad," Troy protested. "He found out, and confronted me about it. That note that you saw, he must've gotten out of my locker or something." Troy grimaced. "He caught me pocketing a note this morning, and then another one before lunch. He got suspicious, and Chad's known my locker combination for a long time."

"How many notes have you gotten today?" Ryan asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Five," Troy admitted. "But you don't need to worry about what they actually said- you could probably guess."

"That I could," Ryan said, shaking his head. "Do you think it's connected to the Prom nominations? I mean, five in one day… that's a lot for you, isn't it?" Ryan asked, suddenly worried.

"Yeah, it's a lot," Troy confirmed. "It's more than I've gotten, total, since I first came out last Monday. And one of them specifically mentioned prom." Troy hoped Ryan didn't ask exactly what it said, though, because he really didn't like lying to Ryan.

"So somebody doesn't want you as prom king," Ryan said, speculatively. Then his eyes grew piercing. "What about you, Troy? What do you want?"

"I just want a nice, quiet prom," mumbled Troy, looking down at his feet. "Nothing epic, or earth shattering." He managed to look back up at Ryan, so sure he'd see disappointment in his eyes. "I know you and Taylor are determined to guarantee me a victory, but I just want to go to prom, with my boyfriend, with no hoopla or special recognition."

"Then I'll call Taylor immediately," Ryan said, pulling out his cell phone. "Tell her to cancel the posters and stickers."

"Posters and stickers?" Troy repeated, his voice alarmed. "You're kidding me, right?"

"I am, but Taylor isn't," Ryan admitted. "She's really throwing herself into this whole election thing; I had no idea she was that interested in social activism. But I sorta got the feeling that you wouldn't be comfortable with all of this, so I told her not to do anything unless we cleared it with you."

Troy found himself pulling Ryan in for a fiery kiss. "You have no idea how much I appreciate that, Ryan," Troy managed to say, during their next gasp for breath.

"I know all of this is still overwhelming for you, Troy," Ryan said, drawing back so that he could look the brunette in the eye. "I know it's still really weird for you to be walking down the hallways holding hands with another boy, or taking said boy to your senior prom. After all, it's probably the last thing you ever expected to do." Troy began to protest, but Ryan hushed him. "That doesn't matter to me, Troy. As long as I'm not just your dirty little secret, and that you love me, I can put up with a lot. Even if you wanted to drop out of the Prom King election. That's not nearly as important to me as our relationship." Ryan gently caressed Troy's cheek.

Troy thought about it a moment, biting his lip as he considered Ryan's idea. "I won't drop out," Troy finally said, giving Ryan a brief smile. "We'll just not push forward my candidacy, and if I win, I win. How does that sound?"

"Perfect," Ryan said, his smile gleaming. "Let's hit the road, though, Bolton. The sooner we get to my place and finish our homework, the more free time we have together."

Troy's only response was a smile as he walked towards his truck. More free time with Ryan sounded great to him.

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"Oh God, Ryan," Troy moaned, as he laid facing down on Ryan's bed, the blonde straddling him. "Just a little more… there! Oh, fuck, don't stop!"

"I had no idea you were this tight," Ryan said, his face flushed as well and his voice husky. "I should've done this a long time ago."

"If I'd known you knew how to give great massages, I would've let you," Troy said, panting. "Gabi or no Gabi."

"Well, with that kind of stress in your life, it's no wonder your muscles are this tight," Ryan said, kneading his hands over Troy's bare back, which glistened with the massage oil that now sat discarded on the nightstand.

"Ryan, we have to talk about my…" Sharpay's insistent voice came as she barged into Ryan's bedroom, not bothering to knock. "Oh, God!" she screamed, covering her eyes. "I'm blinded by the gayness!" Troy's immediate reaction was to jump up in alarm, but Ryan's weight on his back prevented him from doing so.

"Grow up, Sharpay," Ryan said, rolling his eyes. "I'm giving Troy a back massage." He leaned forward to whisper in Troy's ear. "Unless you want Shar to see Troy Jr. down there, your best bet is to stay lying down until I can get rid of her." Troy just nodded emphatically; he was hard as a rock, and he did _not_ want Sharpay to see him in that state. By the same token, Ryan was still leaning forward, to disguise his own erection from Sharpay's eyes.

"If you didn't want me barging in here, you should've locked the door," Sharpay said, as she opened her eyes. Her nails were held out in front of her, which Troy guessed meant that she had just painted them. Unfortunately, despite her earlier shrieks of being blinded, she seemed to be having no problems ogling Troy's half-naked and oiled-up body.

"Perhaps I figured that it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to realize that when your brother and his boyfriend disappear into his room, you probably don't want to see what they're doing in there," Ryan replied dryly. "Or," he added, a smirk on his face, "maybe this was all just a big plot to scar you for life, in hopes that you wouldn't just come in without knocking ever again."

"Whatever," Sharpay said, waving away Ryan's answer. "We need to talk about my upcoming prom queen election. I'm taking no chances here- I need to do whatever it takes to win over that Montez girl. I am the rightful Prom Queen, here, and I need you two to make sure that this election isn't stolen right out from under me."

The only response she got was two very loud groans from the two boys on the bed, as Ryan wearily collapsed on top of Troy. As far as Troy was concerned, after everything that had happened that day… if he ever heard prom mentioned again in his presence, it would be too soon.

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So, another chapter bites the dust. Fun times. As I never paid that much attention to how the nominees were selected for the homecoming courts and the like when I was in high school, I just kinda made it up. It's probably close, though, because for homecoming they just gave us the names of four couples and we voted for them. Prom seemed to divide up king and queen, though, so I made two separate ballots for that. That's what the plot required, so that's what I gave it.

I just want to say… the response from last chapter was phenomenal. I totally regret taking so long on this chapter, when it's clear to me that I have quite a number of fans out there. But when I have as many as I do, I have to make sure that I'm publishing quality product. I was hoping, at the time, to break the 300 review mark with Chapter 24. Yeah, so you guys helped me blow right past that mark, easily. Let's see how many we can gather before the story is done! Thank you so much for making it clear to me that this story is something special, and an experience that I shall never forget. Onward to Chapter 26, and the sleepover that Troy will never forget!

Squall Thrawn


	26. Baggage, Wine and Beer!

A/N: Lest anybody worry too much about me… I'm not dead. Not even close to it. So for those of you placing bets on that… you lost. Just… really busy, and horribly blocked. Horribly, horribly blocked. Plus, not really in the writing mood. As some of you might have guessed, HSM has lost its shine for me. There was a time when I'd watch the movie quite a bit; it was great for taking a nap. (Guess that's not a ringing endorsement.) But I don't think I've watched any of them in a while; just lost interest in them. Just thought I'd get that off my chest. I'm still holding to my promise, though. This story will be finished. That is, of course, if anybody's still interested in reading.

For a bit of good news, it's all downhill from here. It's a good thing, because this chapter was an uphill battle. I couldn't seem to find the perfect tone for it, and I don't imagine I ever will, completely. What follows is the best I could do. Hopefully I can find my voice in the next chapter, assuming anybody's still following my story. If you are… I'm profoundly grateful to all of you. Your words of encouragement and interest have touched me in more ways than I can possibly recount.

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now!! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

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Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 26 - Baggage, Wine and Beer!

Troy had a feeling that there was something up at school, the moment he got out of his truck that Friday morning. It wasn't anything he could put his finger on, precisely, but it was there, nonetheless. Maybe it was the fact that some of the students still lingering in the lot, taking just a few more sneaky puffs of their cigarettes, seemed to be awfully interested in him. Or perhaps it was the fact that Ryan's convertible was sitting in the car park, but the blonde was nowhere to be found. Or perhaps it was simply the fact that since Troy came out, he had yet to experience a perfectly boring day at East High.

'Not that it means anything,' Troy told himself, as he walked towards the entrance, trying to ignore the stares he seemed to be getting. And forcing himself not to glance over at Ryan's convertible. 'And it's not like he _has_ to wait for me every morning…' Even though Ryan had met him the previous morning, or the morning before that, or…

As Troy turned the corner to approach the entrance, he caught sight of Ryan, dressed to the nines as usual, standing near the doors. It was then that Troy definitely knew that something was up. Ryan's smile was definitely forced, and as Troy approached him and put his arm around the blonde to kiss him good morning, he could feel the tension in Ryan's shoulders. And that wasn't even mentioning the fact that Ryan looked tired today, definitely not a usual sight for Troy's eyes.

"Morning," Troy said anyway, smiling. "How's it going?"

Ryan shrugged noncommittally, though he did plant a quick kiss on Troy's cheek. "Just another day at wonderful East High," was all he said, taking Troy's hand in his own. "Never a dull moment."

"What do you mean by that?" Troy asked, concerned. "What happened this time?"

"Just the same crap as usual," Ryan said, his mouth twisting sourly. "Just a lot more of it." He tugged on Troy's hand. "Come on, I don't want to talk about it out here. We've got enough people watching us, as it is."

Which was true. They always managed to acquire more than their fair share of looks even on the slowest of news days. And that was far from the case, today. Pretty much everybody was watching them, as if expecting something. So Troy let himself be led by Ryan's hand into the school proper. Where he was promptly accosted by a small but determined looking freshman.

"Vote Sharpay Evans for Prom Queen!" called out a freshman girl as she thrust a campaign flyer into Troy's hand. "Vote Sharpay Evans for Prom Queen," she repeated, pressing a flyer into Ryan's free hand as well.

"Sharpay's my twin sister," Ryan pointed out, a sardonic tone in his voice. "If she's worried about getting my vote, then I'd say her campaign's in trouble. And you already got me on my way out of the door, too. Five minutes ago. And when I came in before that."

"Umm," the girl said, flushing. "I wasn't… I mean… Vote for Sharpay Evans!" She took advantage of a passing student to extract herself from the awkward situation.

"I see Sharpay's campaign is in full swing," Troy said, shaking his head as he continued through the hallways, still holding his boyfriend's hand. "It's been, what, two days? Two days since they announced the nominations, and Sharpay already has flyers?"

"Let's not forget her use of slave labour," Ryan added, a wry twist to his mouth. "The entire Drama Club, and all of the members of what seems to be the East High chapter of the Sharpay Evans Official Fan Club. She's got them all handing out those flyers."

"What, no campaign buttons?" Troy asked, grinning as he passed up a campaign poster of Sharpay's that covered the entire wall.

"Those should be finished by Monday," Ryan said, shrugging. "That's all she would talk about last night, about how those lazy people were taking way too long on her buttons, and that if she lost the election, she would know who to blame. Not even Dad could calm her down, and she usually cools down when he asks."

"Well, your sister is a little high-strung," Troy said, diplomatically.

"You've noticed," Ryan replied, wryly.

"Isn't this a bit much just for Prom Queen, though?" Troy asked, trying to keep a casual tone in his voice. Prom was still a tender subject with him, and though this was Sharpay's campaign, not his, it already seemed like most of the school had lumped the two of them together. "I mean, it's a meaningless title in the end, isn't it?"

"A bit much is pretty much the perfect description for my sister," Ryan pointed out, "though don't ever tell her I said that. What's the problem, though? If she wants it that badly, what's wrong with going for it?" His eyes were slightly narrowed, as he gazed back at his boyfriend. Though he wasn't certain, Troy thought he detected just a touch of rebuke in Ryan's words. Ryan still claimed that he understood and supported Troy's decision to keep a low profile in the race, but nevertheless Troy was pretty sure Ryan still secretly wished that Troy would take a more active role.

"Well, how many people here in this school can afford hundreds of buttons and flyers?" Troy said, trying to keep focus of the conversation on Sharpay's campaign. "Or a small army of campaign volunteers? Isn't that kinda an unfair advantage?"

"My sister wants this thing badly, Troy," Ryan said, with a sense of finality to his words. And definitely a rebuke in there. "So I can't blame _her_ if _she_ throws herself completely into this election. Or if she wants to make buttons and flyers, or browbeat that junior from the drama club that seems to be Sharpay's heir apparent, into coordinating the passing out of said buttons and flyers. What's wrong with going all out if you set yourself a goal in life, and try to achieve it?" Ryan shrugged, though it seemed like it required some effort. "Yeah, we're rich, Troy. I'm not going to apologize for that, or force my sister to not use flyers that cost maybe thirty bucks total. Copies aren't expensive, Troy." Those last words were delivered with just a bit of force, as Ryan turned his head to stare right at Troy, as if daring him to go further.

"I'm not saying that you have to apologize for being rich," Troy started backtracking, as he realized the far more sensitive issue he had just stumbled into. He'd been so concerned with avoiding the small pothole in front of him, that he had totally stepped into the much larger, deeper pothole sitting just off to the side. "I'm not saying that Sharpay can't have her flyers or buttons," Troy hedged, trying to placate Ryan. "I'm just saying, as far as campaigns go, the money difference… it doesn't seem exactly fair. That's all," he added, trying to make peace. He pulled Ryan out of the crush of people heading towards their classes, so that he could focus his entire attention on his rather angry boyfriend.

"What's supposed to be fair in politics?" Ryan argued. He pulled his arm out from Troy's grip. "Did I miss the memo where it was established that elections were fair and unbiased? What's _your_ solution, Troy? Should I give Gabriella thirty bucks and help her defeat my sister? Or do _you_ want to?" Ryan's eyes were piercing as he looked at Troy, his smile long gone.

"What?" Troy asked, shocked. "What does Gabriella have to do with this? I thought we were talking about your sister!"

"Gabriella is pretty much the only competition that Shar has in this contest, so yeah. If you want the campaign to be more even, that would involve you helping your ex-girlfriend in her bid to glorify bitches everywhere." Ryan's tone was particularly biting as he finished his sentence.

It took Troy a while to respond, he was so flabbergasted. "How could… How could you even ask me that?" Troy managed to get out, his voice full of disbelief. "Sharpay is your sister, and you're my boyfriend. How could you think that I'd ever take her side over yours?" He grabbed Ryan's hand, insistently. "I'm with you all the way." Troy changed the tone of his voice, trying to reach past angry Ryan. "I'm yours, all the way."

Ryan looked into Troy's eyes for a moment, as if searching for truth, before his shoulders slumped and the anger left his eyes. "Sorry," he muttered, looking mollified, and even slightly guilty. "I should know better than to accuse you about helping Gabriella. Sorry I doubted you at all. It's been… It's been a rough morning, and it was an even rougher night last night." Ryan sighed. "I couldn't get any sleep, whatsoever. I was just laying there for hours, waiting to slip off into slumber land, but that never happened."

"You should've called me," Troy chastised him gently. "Maybe I would've been able to help." There was still some lingering anger left about how Ryan had jumped all over him about defending Gabi or some such nonsense, but his own anger had mostly subsided.

"Then neither of us would've gotten any sleep," Ryan muttered, before looking back up at Troy. The two were silent for a moment, as they walked along the hallway.

"Well, does Gabriella fit into this? Is she the reason for all of… this?" Troy asked, after it became obvious that Ryan wasn't going to volunteer any information without prodding. "Why'd you accuse me of wanting to help her?" Troy tried to keep his voice neutral, but was still an edge to his voice.

Ryan began to blush, as his gaze slipped down to the floor. "It's stupid," he mumbled, acting like he wanted to be anywhere but there. "It's just some stupid rumour that's flying around everywhere… I heard about it last night from Kelsi, and that's what prevented me from getting any sleep. I guess it just hit kinda hard, even though I try not to let what other people say, get to me. It's just… it's bad." His face was flush with embarrassment, and Troy felt his anger being replaced with concern. Whatever the rumour was, it was obviously horrible enough to affect his normally unshakable boyfriend.

Troy gently placed his hand on Ryan's chin and raised it until he could look into his boyfriend's eyes. "Just tell me what it was," Troy said, softly. "I won't be mad."

"Don't promise that until you've heard it," Ryan warned him. The blonde sighed. "Everybody in East High's already heard about Gabriella's pregnancy, as you know. Between the fact that you and Sharpay spread that all around the school a few weeks ago, and the fact that she's apparently starting to form a slight bump… it's old news, now. But now they're saying… they're saying that you're the father, Troy."

"But there's no way I can be, right?" Troy asked, trying to sound confident. "You told me that there's no way it could be mine, right?"

"It's true… the dates don't seem to match up," Ryan said, his voice shakier than Troy would've liked. "But that's… not what was bothering me. We both know that you haven't had sex with Gabriella since right after the musical… but the school doesn't. I mean, you were with Gabriella for a few more months after that, and almost nobody knows about Jason Cross. And now rumours are starting to crop up… Nasty ones. But believable ones." Ryan swallowed, audibly.

"What kind of rumours?" Troy asked, darkly.

"That the baby is yours," Ryan said quickly, lest he not be able to get the words out at all. "That you got Gabi pregnant, and freaked out about it. So now you're pretending you're gay, and using me to help you sell it. After all, if you were gay when you were with her, it seems less likely that you could've gotten her pregnant. But the two of us being in a relationship? Apparently that's just a big lie that's gone just a little bit too far."

"That bitch," Troy said, angrily, suddenly feeling utter rage towards Gabriella. "I can't believe she'd do that! She even came to me about a truce. _She_ came to _me_! Well, it's on, now."

"It's not going to do any good, any more," Ryan replied, sadly. "Anything you say, or have others say, will just sound like campaign mud-slinging."

"Campaign?" Troy asked, surprised. "She's doing all of this… just to win a stupid Prom Queen title?!"

"Of course not," Ryan waved that one away. "It's just a convenient excuse. Camouflage, if you will."

"Then why?" Troy was surprised to find himself extremely upset. His anger was still there, and understandable. But upset? They had been over for nearly three months, and he'd been with Ryan for about half of that time, and yet Troy still found himself feeling betrayed. Was it all the time they'd spent together, before that?

"Gabriella needs to be seen as a victim," Ryan said, answering Troy's question. "This teen pregnancy incident doesn't look good to prospective colleges, but if she was taken advantage of by the handsome and popular basketball star who dumped her when she found out that she was expecting… She can play the victim card."

"I can't believe that everybody's going along with her story," Troy said, angrily. "I thought it was becoming common knowledge that she was two-timing me with Cross."

"They're calling it pre-emptive campaign mudslinging," Ryan explained. "She's claiming that you and Sharpay are in cahoots, and started the negative campaigning early. Since my sister's… well, you know how she is… It's easy to believe that she'd start early. And… like I said… it's a pretty believable rumour. That's the genius of it."

"And the truce?" Troy was almost afraid to hear the answer.

"A ploy to buy time," Ryan answered, reluctantly. "I'm so sorry I pressured you to make peace with her, and for resenting the fact that you were spreading around the rumours that I was afraid to spread. Looks like Sharpay had the right idea, in this case."

"You know what this means, right?" Troy asked Ryan, his voice a little stronger. "It means we have to win this damned election. We cannot let Gabriella win."

"Beating her won't change what people think about us," Ryan said, quietly.

"So why did all of this bother you so much?" Troy asked, bluntly. "You know that my break-up with Gabriella had nothing to do with pregnancy, or anything like that. Hell! You were the one that told _me_ about it!"

"I told you it was stupid," Ryan muttered. "It's just… those old worries and concerns I used to have… It's no big deal," Ryan added hastily, as Troy began to protest. "I believe you. You're with me because you want to be, not because of some messed-up rebound. But I worried about it for so long in the beginning of our relationship… It's hard to just brush it all away, completely. I guess I still haven't gotten over it, entirely."

"I'd hope you believed me," Troy said, a tad indignantly. "I didn't come out to my parents and the whole of East High on a whim. It was for you; for us."

"I know that, Troy," Ryan insisted, putting his arm around Troy's waist. "I know you love me. And you're right; we do have to win this election. Then you can stand up on that stage, thank your wonderful boyfriend for helping you win, and then tell all those homophobes- and Gabi and Jason- where to stick it."

"Sounds good," Troy said, grimly, wrapping his own arm around Ryan. "Gabriella's gonna have to try a lot harder if she wants to mess with us."

qpqp

Troy got out of weightlifting class earlier than usual that day, as it was one of those rare days where the class took a test rather than worked out. Troy supposed it was necessary, as they would be required to take a written final in the class. This particular test had been over the muscles and tendons in the legs. Since this knowledge had been drilled into Troy's head from an early age, he'd quickly finished, and was cut loose from class, early.

After previous tests Troy had always just shot baskets in the gym until the bell rang, but this time he headed straight towards the library. That way, he figured, he could get a good chunk of his homework done and out of the way. Leaving him to focus on Ryan all that weekend. He intended to make damned sure that Ryan knew that there was no wavering on Troy's part.

As an added bonus, since the library was closer to Troy's seventh period class than the gym was, this time _he_ was the one waiting for Ryan.

Taylor and Kelsi both passed Troy as he was waiting, each of them giving Troy a friendly smile and greeting. Troy smiled back, still not making any moves towards the classroom door. He was being the attentive boyfriend today, waiting for Ryan.

Soon enough, Troy could see Ryan coming down the hallway, deep in discussion with… Rocket Man? Troy rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing. Jimmie Zara himself, that young sophomore basketball player who had been so grateful to have made the varsity team, that he had spent the first few months of Troy's senior year following the brunette around, in case Troy needed anything. The boy was eager to please, and Ryan, then only a casual friend to Troy, had laughed at Troy's complaints about being followed around by what amounted to an overly enthusiastic puppy dog. Gabriella had laughed, too, passing it off as just a little bit of hero worship, if a little excessively so.

Of course, Gabriella had quickly changed her tune when Jimmie started trying to monopolize Troy's time. Calls during the couple's evenings together, generalized hovering when they were spending time together in the corners… Jimmie, as well, was becoming particularly jealous of Troy's slowly deepening friendship with Ryan, unable to understand why Troy would want to spend more of his free time with a theatre geek than with a fellow basketballer. Chad and the other Wildcats were mostly immune to this treatment, as they were Troy's teammates, but Jimmie had still shown definite signs of wanting to replace Chad as Troy's best friend.

Troy had finally had to put his foot down rather firmly, telling Jimmie point-blank to back off. It had taken Troy a while to get it through the boy's seemingly thick skull, but it had finally sunk in. And, for once, Jimmie seemed to have actually listened, and he had stopped being so annoyingly persistent in Troy's presence. He'd also backed way off of Troy's friends, after Troy had threatened to kick him back down to Junior Varsity. Ryan still tended to avoid him, finding the boy somewhat creepy, but Troy didn't actively go out of his way to avoid Jimmie.

As Troy thought about it a little harder, he was hard-pressed to even come up with the last time that he had really crossed paths with Rocket Man since the basketball season ended. Jimmie hung out with friends his own age, Troy supposed, and was still trying not to piss off Troy again. And despite the inclusive nature of Troy's lunch table, where brainiacs, theatre geeks, and jocks all came together in friendship… it was an unspoken rule that it was for upperclassmen only. Not clingy sophomores. Troy did know that Jimmie had sided with him when they'd taken on the football jocks bullying Ryan, but that was about all he knew about Jimmie's recent activities. So, after all this time, why was Ryan suddenly talking to Jimmie? And… why was his hand on Jimmie's shoulder? And Jimmie seemed awfully attentive as Ryan was apparently explaining something to him.

"Hey, guys," Troy said, masking a frown as he approached them. He quickly wrapped his arm around Ryan's shoulder, trying to look casual as he did so.

Jimmie made an eeping sorta noise, obviously startled. Ryan didn't seem surprised at all, though, giving his boyfriend a welcoming smile.

"Umm… hey, Troy," Jimmie managed to get out, his face a bright red. "I've gotta… I've gotta go…" He turned towards Ryan, a grateful look on his face. "I… thanks, Ryan… I appreciate your help." To Troy's immense surprise, Jimmie actually gave Ryan a one-armed hug, making sure to avoid contact with Troy's arm.

"No problem, Jimmie," Ryan said nodding, without a trace of the shock that Troy would've expected. And Ryan's voice was cordial, even a little encouraging; a far cry from the coldness that he had previously shown towards the skinny boy. "You've got my number, right? Give me a call if you have any more questions, but not this weekend. I've got plans," Ryan added, winking at Troy.

Troy hadn't been sure that Rocket Man could even turn any more red that he already was, but he was quickly proven wrong when the young boy seemed to actually glow a bright red from embarrassment. After a few more stuttered words, Jimmie turned quickly around and ran down the hallway, narrowly missing knocking a teacher down.

"What was that about?" Troy asked, his eyebrow raised.

"Our Mr. Zara had a few questions to ask me," Ryan said, smiling slightly. "I guess I was the only one with whom he felt comfortable enough to talk." He shrugged. "He must have been desperate to actually talk to me; I gather he's still a little upset you picked me over him- as a friend, of course," Ryan added, hastily.

"What did he want to ask you about?" Troy continued, finding himself sounding like an interrogator.

"That, Mr. Bolton, is between Jimmie and myself," Ryan said, frowning slightly. "I had to swear not to tell you what we discussed, before he would even begin to open up to me." Ryan's mouth twisted in a sardonic way. "But I'm sure you can make some pretty good guesses about it, anyway. I mean, it's obvious the boy wasn't asking for fashion tips."

"You mean…" Troy trailed off, blinking rapidly. "He's…"

"I'm not confirming or denying anything," Ryan said, shrugging. "But really, I'd say we should've guessed this a long time ago; it would explain a lot."

"He seemed awfully comfortable with you, though," Troy pointed out. "_Especially_ after everything that happened between the three of us."

"He doesn't have anybody else to talk to, Troy," Ryan said softly, his voice a little sad. "I may have had my share of problems with Jimmie in the past, but I wasn't about to turn him away." He turned his head to gaze directly into Troy's eyes. "We made a statement by being an out couple in high school, Troy; we told everybody that it's okay to be gay, and be with the one you love. But not everybody has it as easy as us, Troy."

Troy opened his mouth to protest, but Ryan quietly shushed him. "Trust me, Troy," Ryan stated, his eyes intent. "It could've been a lot worse. So… what's wrong with helping out those who don't have the friends and family that we do?"

'But it's Jimmie Zara!' Troy wanted to exclaim, but didn't. 'And he had his arm around you and everything!' Instead he just sighed. As usual, he couldn't argue against Ryan's logic. Something must've shown from his expression, though, because Ryan was suddenly frowning at Troy. His prior expression of joy at seeing Troy waiting for him was gone, replaced by a more distant look. As if upset that Troy would even question his sudden rapport with Rocket Man. And the worst part of it was, Troy didn't even know where his own feelings were even coming from. He just knew that something didn't sit well with him, this new camaraderie between two complete opposites. The sight of that blasted little hug between his Ryan and Rocket Man was enough to set Troy's blood to boiling.

"Let's get to class," Ryan finally said, in the silence that had suddenly risen up in the wake of Ryan's last comment. "We'll talk about this later."

Without a word, Troy followed Ryan into the class room, the bell ringing not two seconds later. And wondered what the hell he was thinking. Damn it. He really needed to get his head in the game.

qpqp

"I just don't get it; why does he still doubt me?" Troy asked Chad, as the two took turns shooting baskets. Rather than lingering in the parking lot after school like they always did, Ryan had instead told Troy that he had an unexpected shopping date with Sharpay and had left almost immediately. He'd reassured Troy that they were still on for their big night, giving him a rather hot kiss on the mouth, but Ryan's abrupt exit, and rather closed off tone, had still left Troy feeling strangely bereft- and a little suspicious, for some reason. So he'd immediately called Chad up and requested some best friends time. On the court.

"We've been doing this strange courtship dance for the last two months, but still he doubts me," Troy continued, dribbling the ball. "I thought I'd have proved myself by now. I mean, I came out to my friends and family, I'm out at school, and whenever we're in public I hold his hand and otherwise openly show my affection. Short of getting that tattoo he keeps mentioning," Troy shot the ball, which bounced off the rim. "What else am I supposed to do?" Troy's voice was nearly pleading at the end. He quickly went to retrieve the basketball.

"I can't believe I didn't guess you were gay, sooner," Chad muttered. "You're, like, the biggest drama queen I've ever met. You give Sharpay a run for her money." He shook his head. "Seriously, Troy, what the hell are you worried about? It's not like Ryan broke up with you, or anything. You told me he admitted he was overreacting, and the two of you seemed close at lunch. A little too close," Chad added, wrinkling his nose. He caught the ball that Troy passed to him, and easily made the shot. "But you're not letting it go. Is it this stupid errand he has to do with Sharpay?"

"Yes… No… I don't know," Troy floundered. He hadn't told Chad about the weird encounter with Jimmie Zara, despite the fact that it was one of the primary causes of his distress. It simply wasn't his secret to tell. "It just… felt like he was creating an excuse to get away from me, after school. I mean, he usually tells me about these trips with Sharpay a few days ahead of time." Troy had also left out the fact that it was obvious that Ryan was in fact a little disappointed in Troy's response to the encounter with Jimmie. Again, none of Chad's business, Troy reasoned to himself.

"So Ryan changes his schedule around for one day, and Troy immediately assumes the worst," Chad summarized, before groaning.

"It's more than that, Chad," Troy insisted. "Ryan… he's a creature of habit. He parks in the same place every day, if he can, and he always waits for me in the morning. And Ryan is always standing outside of our seventh period class, waiting for me to arrive." Except, of course, when Troy arrives early to find Ryan with his hand on another boy's shoulder, the brunette thought, darkly. Another boy, who happens to be gay. Well, if his guess was right, of course, he quickly corrected himself. Even if Ryan had all but spelled it out for him, Troy wasn't going to go making any unfounded assumptions. "He finds routine comfortable, Chad," Troy continued. "So if he starts changing the routine, that's a sign to me that there's something wrong."

"Then what's wrong?" Chad asked, directly.

"I don't know!" Troy exclaimed, frustrated. "Half the time, I don't even know what the hell I'm doing, here! I always thought guys were easy to understand- after all, I'm one of them! Girls are the confusing ones, but I was getting used to the idea that I wouldn't ever understand them. Now I'm dating Ryan, who's on a completely different level of confusing. Like, confusing on a level that I should understand, but don't." Troy paused. "Do you… do you really think he believes that rumour that Gabriella started spreading around?" Troy could barely get the words out. Was that why Ryan was suddenly talking to Jimmie? Did he doubt Troy that much that he was beginning to arrange a replacement for Troy?

"He's _your_ boyfriend, Troy," Chad replied, rolling his eyes. "If you don't know, how should I? Besides, even if he does believe it, there's nothing you can really do about that."

"What? That's it?" Troy asked, outraged. "You were supposed to give me advice, man! Not just say there's nothing I can do about it!"

"Dude, what you _want_ is advice on how to fix this latest bit of drama between you and Ryan. Sorry, I got nothing," Chad said, shrugging. "That's not what your real problem is, though."

"Fine, what's my real problem?" Troy asked, the words coming out perhaps a bit more belligerent than he intended.

Chad frowned at Troy's attitude. "All of this, Troy," Chad said, emphatically, waving his hands to indicate Troy. "You, obsessing over every little issue in your relationship. It's not healthy, dude."

"Worrying about the status of my relationship isn't unhealthy, Chad," Troy replied, tartly.

"As much as you do it, it is," Chad countered. "Take this current issue you've got. This isn't your fault, Troy," Chad said, emphasizing each word. "It's like you said: you've proven yourself to Ryan, time and time again. For God's sake, you and your father aren't even on speaking terms at the moment! There's nothing more he can ask from you!"

Troy was silent for a moment, as he thought about Chad's words. And how much truth was actually contained in them. "You're right, Chad," Troy finally said, as though the words were a struggle to get out. "He was being a little unreasonable about this whole thing, wasn't he?" Troy's voice grew stronger. He _had_ been a good, dutiful boyfriend to Ryan. He'd jumped through all the hoops that Ryan had put in front of him. And despite that, Ryan was still replacing him? With Jimmie Zara?! There was just something not right about that. But then Troy's anger dissipated, leaving behind feelings of guilt. "But why do I feel like this is somehow still my fault?" he asked Chad. "I mean, I know you've got a point, Chad, but still… I feel like I'm the one who fucked up somehow."

"That's cuz in the beginning, it _was_ all your fault," Chad pointed out, in that oh so helpful tone of his that Troy found positively infuriating. "You outted him to the school, and then after the two of you got together, you hid in your closet and pretended you weren't together. Then there was the whole love business, and then…"

"I get the point, Chad," Troy interrupted, rolling his eyes. "I was actually there for all of that, so this isn't exactly groundbreaking material. What're you getting at?"

"That both of you got used to blaming everything on Troy," Chad said, simply and directly. "If Ryan feels insecure, he blames it on you, and you automatically take the blame and apologize. And Taylor used to tell me that an innocent person doesn't need to apologize- only the guilty have something to feel sorry about. So now Ryan's not taking any of the blame for any of his mistakes, and you're taking all of it. That's what's unhealthy about it, Troy."

"That's not true," Troy protested. "Ryan admitted that it was his fault for feeling insecure about our relationship. He apologized, and we're good, now." Good. Yeah. Ryan was suddenly making time with Jimmie Zara, and Troy was calling their relationship good. Apparently Chad had about as much faith in Troy's rather weak protestations as Troy did, because he was already shaking his head in disbelief.

"Yeah, you're all good now, Troy. He's out on an impromptu errand with his sister," Chad countered. "And you're being all paranoid and shit, and thinking that your relationship is now doomed. Is that what you mean when you say the two of you are 'good?' Sounds great to me, Troy."

Troy had no response to that, and the two silently took turns shooting baskets for a little while, as Troy's mind continued to race, worrying about everything. Their argument that morning. Jimmie Zara, and the baggage that he had added to the issues at hand. Gabriella, and her power to rock the foundation of their relationship with a few simple words. Chad may have been right when he said that Troy was overreacting, but Troy couldn't help but worry; it was what he did best.

qpqp

Troy's truck was making uncomfortable shuddering noises, but with a grateful sigh, Troy finally came to a stop in the Evans driveway. He hadn't gotten the phone call from Ryan saying he was on his way home, but Troy had been told six-thirty was when he should get there, and that was exactly what he'd done.

Ryan's blue convertible was in the driveway, but Sharpay's own pink model was still gone, presumably being the vehicle they were using. Troy resisted the urge to pull out his phone, lest he sound like an anxious, and rather overbearing boyfriend. An urge he'd been suppressing all afternoon. The urge to call Ryan, to apologize for whatever he'd done wrong this time, or whatever. But each time, Troy had stopped himself, afraid of the angry words he might accidentally blurt out. Successfully suppressing that urge once more, Troy started walking towards the front door, figuring he'd wait for Ryan in that beautiful house… well, wait and sulk, was probably more like it.

Just then, he could hear the rather distinctive roar of a convertible, travelling rather fast. And with that, Sharpay's distinctive Barbie car came around the corner, Troy's hat-wearing boyfriend at the wheel with a huge grin on his face as he spotted Troy. Ryan stopped the car beside Troy's truck, barely putting it into park before he leapt out to greet his boyfriend.

Troy was taken by surprise, not expecting Ryan's rather startling and flashy entrance. Especially when he'd been expecting a more restrained welcome from Ryan, considering the terms they'd parted on. But none of that suddenly seemed to matter to Ryan, and Troy quickly turned his attention to the car's other occupants, hoping to regain his mental balance. Wait a second. Occupants? Plural? That bit of observation was enough to draw Troy's entire attention, as he found himself barely noticing the blonde that had just approached to kiss him. And enough to bring out that frustrated anger that was quickly becoming all too natural for him.

"Why is Zeke with you?" were the first words out of Troy's mouth, his expression turning sour. Ryan practically screeched to a halt, stopping only a few meters away from Troy. The look on his face, which had only moments before been sheer pleasure and glee, was now something more akin to shocked, uncomfortable, and… vaguely guilty? Troy's eyes narrowed even more. Why would Ryan be feeling guilty?

"Am I completely beneath your notice that you forgot about me?" Sharpay demanded before Ryan could get a word in, as she waited for Zeke to open her door before she got out.

"Hi, Sharpay," Troy said, not really focussing on her.

"Hmph," Sharpay responded, disgruntled, as she threw her head back haughtily. "Zeke, bags," she said, with barely a look towards her boyfriend. Old Sharpay, indeed, thought Troy with a grimace.

"What do you mean, why is Zeke with us?" Ryan asked, looking confused at Troy's question. "He's Sharpay's boyfriend, remember? And the main reason for our little shopping trip, as it turns out."

"But why… why not…" Troy sputtered, having problems getting the words out. It was Ryan's matter-of-fact tone that got to Troy, that voice that informed Troy that he was being unreasonable, but Ryan would be patient and overlook it because that was just the kind of guy he was. The same tone he'd gotten when Troy was objecting to Jimmie Zara's sudden and rather unexpected presence in their lives.

"Oh, God, Troy Bolton thinks it's all about him again," Sharpay said, rolling her eyes. Zeke had finally managed to gather up all the shopping bags, a Herculean effort considering the Evanses' shopping habits. "Come on, Zeke, let's go inside." She gave Zeke a little smile, and trailed one finger up his shirt suggestively, before turning on her heels, and marching towards the front doors, poor Zeke right behind her. He did manage to give one short look towards Troy, shrugging his shoulders slightly as if to say, 'what can you do?'

"So, what's the problem, Troy?" Ryan asked, still looking rather confused. "I told you after school; Sharpay wanted to go shopping. And as it turned out, the main reason for this shopping was so that Sharpay could give Zeke the extreme makeover. They'll be at the luncheon at Lava Springs on Sunday- remember, the one after your golf game? So he had to look presentable, and I, being a guy, was recruited to help. Plus, Zeke refused to let Sharpay anywhere near the dressing rooms, so I ended up being the monkey in the middle." Ryan tried to cast a winning smile at Troy, but Troy didn't smile back.

"How come I wasn't invited?" Troy tried not to sound petulant, but as soon as the words were out of his mouth he knew he had failed miserably.

"You were," Ryan sounded bewildered. "Once I knew the reason for the trip, that is." Ryan looked faintly guilty. "I sorta promised her earlier this week, but I got so busy thinking about the fun we were going to have tonight… I kinda forgot. So when Sharpay asked me if we were still on for shopping today, I lied and told her that I hadn't forgotten. So I didn't realize that Zeke was coming along with us until I got home. Zeke needed fashion advice, and apparently he trusts my judgment on clothing." Ryan shrugged. "So I called your phone, to see if you wanted to join us. You could ask Sharpay or Zeke; they both heard me make the call."

"Then how come I didn't get the call?" Troy demanded, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket.

"I don't know!" Ryan exclaimed. "It went right to voice mail and I left you a message. I figured you were busy with school work or some household thing, so I called one more time, a little later. Again, straight to voice mail, so I gave up. I thought maybe you were avoiding me or something," he added, a little softer. "You've seemed kinda mad at me, today. I was afraid that you weren't even going to show up, tonight."

"I wasn't avoiding you," Troy protested, opening his phone. He was going to show Ryan that he had no missed calls, and- hold on, wait a minute. "My phone's turned off," Troy said, bewildered. "I didn't… I didn't turn it off. How did it get switched off?"

"Well, see, there you go," Ryan said, his voice for the first time showing a bit of strain. "Just a little technical problem; Nothing to get upset over."

Troy didn't respond, as he stood there feeling rather humiliated and childish. He'd all but thrown a temper tantrum in front of Ryan, so sure that he was being slighted and pushed aside. And, though Troy was loath to admit it… the worst part of it, to him, at least, was admitting that Ryan was right, yet again.

Then Troy immediately felt guilty for that last thought. In all honesty, he'd overreacted about what was in reality just a minor incident. And now he was angry at Ryan… just because he was right?

With a sigh, Troy reached forward with his hand, and gently grazed it against Ryan's smooth, pale cheek. "I'm sorry," he said, softly, trying to convey his feelings towards Ryan in his gaze and touch.

Ryan reached up with his own hand, and placed it on top of Troy's, squeezing it a little but making no effort to remove it. Troy could almost feel the sigh as Ryan made it, feeling the blonde relax slightly. There was still underlying level of tension, however, that refused to clear.

"I guess we're all allowed to have off days," Ryan said, softly, still a little sadness in his eyes. "Maybe we should schedule it better, though, for next time," he added, forcing a slight smile on his face. "Both of us on the same day; it's a bit much to deal with."

"I'll have my assistant get with your assistant," Troy said, trying to alleviate the situation a little more. "We'll come up with a workable schedule."

Troy knew his joke was beyond lame even when he said it, but he was gratified when Ryan chuckled politely, anyway.

"Dinner will be ready before too long," Ryan said, nodding towards the front doors of the Evans Estate. "My mother called us while we were out shopping, to let us know. Then, I think, we'll be watching a movie with Zeke and my sister." Ryan shrugged a little. "I think my sister misses spending time with me, watching movies, singing show tunes… She'll never admit it, of course, but it's true all the same. So I thought I'd indulge her in that. In return, though, the rest of the night, and tomorrow morning, for that matter, is ours alone. Is that… is that ok?" Ryan asked, biting his lip a little.

"Of course it is, Troy said, reassuringly. Sure, any night containing protracted contact with Sharpay wasn't Troy's idea of a great night, but if giving into this meant having Ryan all to himself for the rest of the night… Troy could deal.

"Of course, we don't have to go inside, just yet," Ryan hastened to say. "We could… we could head back to the gardens and sit on that swing, a little bit. Otherwise Sharpay's going to insist on showing you everything she bought- the bigger audience, the better."

Troy suppressed a shudder. "Swing's fine," he said, taking Ryan's hand. "Yours is the only fashion show I'd want to see, anyway."

"You're just saying that because you'd probably want to be in the dressing room, helping me undress," Ryan replied, distractedly, as he started pulling Troy towards the gardens. He'd responded with the usual sort of comment, Troy noticed, but his heart didn't seem to be in it.

"Is there a problem with that?" Troy asked, striving to make his tone playful, but it came out with a note of seriousness to it.

"None that I could see," Ryan replied, absentmindedly. He gently tugged on Troy's hand again, still leading him towards the back gardens and gazebo but at a faster pace. They were soon ensconced in the wooden porch swing, Ryan once again pressed up against Troy's side. His free hand was on Troy's knee, while Troy's arm was loosely wrapped around Ryan's waist.

"I'm sorry for freaking out back there," Troy said finally, after a few minutes of semi-awkward silence grew to be a little too much. "I don't… I don't even know where that came from."

"Chad… Chad seems to have an idea," Ryan finally responded, after a moment's pause. There was a frown on his face as he said that. "Chad said I was putting too much pressure on you," Ryan said, softly. "He called me when I was at the mall. Said I was making everything your fault, and not giving you time to process things." Ryan sighed. "Sharpay and Zeke couldn't figure out why I was suddenly not interested in clothes shopping; it's not as if I was going to tell them anything. I thought maybe that was why you weren't answering your phone. That's why I was so happy to see you when we pulled in."

Troy immediately felt the guilt return, for reacting so badly to Ryan's arrival, but all of that was overshadowed by his anger over Chad's meddling. "I didn't ask Chad to call you," Troy said, his voice a little heated. "If there was any problem I had with our relationship, I'd ask you myself instead of using Chad. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Then ask me about Jimmie Zara," Ryan challenged, quietly. He turned his head to gaze directly into Troy's eyes. "Because the look in your eyes says that that isn't nothing. You've got Chad telling me that I'm blaming you for everything, but he has no idea, does he? You were blaming me for not being able to reach you through your turned-off cell phone, and it sure seemed like you weren't happy that I wasn't telling Jimmie to get lost. Looked a lot like jealousy to me, Troy. Or suspicion." Ryan's eyes blazed a little bit. "Ask me about Jimmie Zara, Troy."

"What about-" Troy began to ask.

"It's nothing, Troy," Ryan interrupted Troy's words, answering his own question. "Like I told you this afternoon, Jimmie just wanted my advice. I have no idea where you'd get it in your head that I was somehow going to hook up with him on the spot, especially considering our history. Besides," Ryan added in a sardonic tone, "I wouldn't be the one he was interested in, anyway."

"Wha?" Troy asked, stunned.

"Come on, Troy," Ryan said, his voice softening. "Did you really think that it would be me that Jimmie had a crush on? After everything that went on this past year? Or, for that matter, did you actually think that I'd leave you, the one that I've gone through hell and high water for, to hook up with a skinny sophomore with boundary issues?"

"I wasn't really thinking about that part," Troy admitted. "I was mostly thinking about the part where you got tired of me for getting tangled up in my own messy issues. I mean, that's what this morning was about, right? Every time we think we've resolved the Gabriella issue, something else crops up. I swear, it's like the fuckin' Hydra or something. And everything gets so complicated when it does, and I come out looking like an asshole or something."

"I guess Chad wasn't too far from the mark, then," Ryan said, his voice almost a whisper. "He's just not seeing the whole picture. I'll admit, I do put the blame on you, sometimes, and sometimes it's undeserved. But even if I don't, you try to take the blame anyway. And then treat me like I'm some sort of paragon. Like I'm a pristine example of the ideal boyfriend, the poster boy for fags everywhere, who's got his shit all together." Ryan pressed his lips together, as he shook his head. "I am so far from that ideal it's not even funny. You're not the only one here with baggage, Troy." There was a distinct note of bitterness in Ryan's voice.

Troy opened his mouth to question Ryan about this revelation, but the sudden beeping from Ryan's cell phone interrupted them. Ryan pulled out his mobile, reading the text message. "Dinner's ready," Ryan said, getting up from the swing. "We'll talk about this later. Sharpay doesn't like to be kept waiting, and pasta's no good cold."

Troy wanted so desperately to pull Ryan back to him, to bridge the gulf that seemed to have unexpectedly spread between the two of them, or to give some non-trite words of comfort, to reassure his boyfriend. But he did neither of those things, instead opting to silently stand up from the swing, and follow Ryan as they made their way towards the house, and towards the awkward dinner and resulting awkward conversation that was certain to result.

qpqp

"So, do you know what movie we're watching?" Troy asked Zeke as they followed their significant others down the hallway towards the 'entertainment room,' as Sharpay called it.

"Umm… I did," Zeke said, looking a little sheepish. "I was being bombarded by a gazillion different shirts and pants at the time, and kinda forgot. I remember I was trying that purple shirt that Ryan insisted I wear; I don't wear purple, Troy. Don't you see what they did to me?!"

"It's not purple; it's lavender," Ryan said, absentmindedly, without turning around. For some reason, though, Troy could've sworn he heard Ryan say that with a trace of an Australian accent. Must've been his imagination, though. "And it would've looked just fine on you."

"You made that lavender comment last time, too," Zeke said, narrowing his eyes. "Is there some inside joke you're playing on me?"

"It's a line from a movie," Sharpay said, the irritation in her voice barely masked. "We _were_ going to watch that movie, but my brother decided to change his mind at the last minute."

"Your brother is right here," Ryan said, his voice still subdued. "And he wasn't in the mood for watching that movie, tonight."

"Such a shocking revelation; Ryan's being bitchy again," Sharpay responded back, sounding snippy. "Can't imagine why; surely it can't be the same reason that it's been the last fifty times." She turned around to give Troy a dirty look.

"Dude, what did you do?" Zeke asked, in a whisper.

Troy just shrugged- he wasn't entirely sure the whole reason why Ryan was mad at him, and what parts he did know, he didn't much feel like sharing with Zeke. Dinner had been a strained affair, just as Troy had expected, with Ryan barely talking to him, and Sharpay staring daggers at him.

Once the four teenagers were in the Evans' entertainment room, Ryan busied himself with getting the movie set up while Sharpay exchanged a few inaudible words with Zeke. Troy just stood there, feeling uncomfortable, while he waited for his boyfriend to give him some indicator as to where to sit. Ryan finally finished fiddling around with the DVD player, and headed over to one of the small loveseats, giving Troy an unreadable look. Troy took that as a hint, anyway, and sat down on the loveseat, giving Ryan his space. If Ryan was going to be upset at Troy over whatever it was he was supposed to have done, Troy sure as hell wasn't going to encroach on Ryan's personal space. Except that Ryan let off a slight sigh when Troy did so, and looked faintly disappointed. Troy resisted the urge to scrub his face in frustration; he wasn't in the mood to deal with Ryan's mixed signals. Troy looked over to see Sharpay and Zeke openly staring at the both of them, Zeke looking sympathetic while Sharpay looked ready to throw sharp implements at Troy.

"Is everybody ready?" Ryan asked, his voice soft. But after the oppressive silence that seemed to fill the room, to Troy's ears it sounded unnaturally loud. When nobody responded, Ryan hit the play button, but the movie had barely started before Sharpay spoke up.

"I think we need popcorn with this movie," she announced, staring right at Troy as if daring him to contradict her.

"You just ate," Ryan protested, reluctantly hitting the pause button. "Besides, you don't even like popcorn; aren't you always calling it empty calories?"

"There's nothing wrong with some popcorn every now and then," Sharpay countered him. She turned to Zeke, unleashing her winning smile on the boy. "You'll get me some popcorn, won't you?"

Troy found Sharpay's tactics to be immensely unfair, since she knew that Zeke wasn't about to say no to her, but he held his tongue.

"I guess so," Zeke said, sighing, as he scratched the back of his head. "But I don't know where it is; your kitchen is ginormous. I don't supposed you'd be willing to show me…" he tried, looking pleadingly at Sharpay.

"Oh, Ryan will show you, won't you Ryan?" Sharpay said, pointedly. "He knows where it is better than I do, after all. I barely know where most of the things in that kitchen, are."

"You sure seem to have no problem when it comes time to find the pints of ice cream," Ryan responded, his voice soft but still biting. "Mom and I have to hide our ice cream whenever you go on one of your binges."

Sharpay flushed. "I'm sure you've been downing more than your fair share of ice cream lately," she responded without looking at her brother, instead focussing her stare on Troy, who gulped.

"So, popcorn! Sounds good!" Zeke exclaimed, jumping up from his seat. "I'll make two batches! Maybe I should bake some cookies, too. Two, three dozen… Coming, Ryan?" With that, Zeke bounded out of the room, not even looking back.

"I'll be back in a bit," Ryan said to Troy, his voice so faint Troy could barely hear it. With that, he got up from the loveseat and followed Zeke out of the door.

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Troy asked, lamely, knowing Ryan couldn't hear him.

"You're staying right here, Troy Bolton," Sharpay said, standing up from her seat and pointed a lacquered nail in his direction. "I didn't plan this whole distraction just to have you rabbit on me. You and I, we're gonna have a little talk."

Troy swallowed uneasily. "So you said all of that just to get Zeke and Ryan out of the way? Why couldn't you have just asked them… or asked me? You haven't had any problems cornering me before."

"I don't need Ryan showing up at the wrong time," Sharpay said, pursing her lips. "That'll only make things worse." She cleared her throat. "But we don't have forever, so I'll get to the point. You, Troy Bolton, have managed to fuck up. Again. And my brother must be a glutton for punishment to put up with your indecisive ass." She said all of this as if she were pronouncing his crime and would soon be deciding his subsequent punishment.

"Even if that's true, how is it your business?" Troy asked, a little harshly. "I know he's your twin, but I don't see how you can help."

"You underestimate me, Bolton," Sharpay said, rolling her eyes. "As a matter of fact, I see exactly what your current problem is… and I've got a pretty good guess as to why my brother is acting the way he is." Sharpay sniffed. "Only my melodramatic brother could manage to come up with two entirely different complex issues to have, at the same time. Of course, you're the one who added fuel to the fire."

"Two different issues?" Troy asked, confused.

"Not everybody is as one-dimensional as you," Sharpay said, disdainfully. "Of course, if you weren't, we wouldn't be having these problems."

"What do you mean? And… hey!" Troy added, as he realized he'd been insulted.

"Fine, I'll spell it out for you, Bolton," the blonde girl responded, though her tone said she didn't want to do anything of the sort. "You've been going around everywhere, calling yourself gay. Why? You and I both know it's not true. Not even close to true," she added, her tone more serious.

"I am!" Troy protested. "In case you suddenly forgot, I'm dating your brother."

Sharpay growled. "The things I do for my brother," she muttered to herself. Without warning, she moved forward quickly, and before Troy knew it she was sitting on his lap, straddling it.

"What the fuck?!" Troy managed to respond, completely shocked.

"If you were gay, Bolton, this wouldn't affect you at all, would it?" Sharpay said, her face only inches away from his own. "And you probably wouldn't find my breasts hot, would you?" She shook them slightly, watching as Troy's glazed eyes seemed to focus on them almost automatically. Then she leaned forward, her mouth only inches from his right ear. "Or, I could give you a hickey, and mark my territory," she added in a seductive tone, almost whispering in his ear. "I can go on, if you'd like."

"Please… don't…" Troy said, his voice strained. Despite his best efforts, he was having hard time keeping control of his emotions. And… other things.

"Just so I got your attention," Sharpay said in a normal voice, leaning back, but still not getting off of Troy's lap. "I trust I've made my point?"

"Which is?" Troy asked, looking at her warily as if afraid she was about to molest him again.

"That you're not gay," Sharpay said, simply. "Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you're all hot for my brother," she added, as Troy opened his mouth to argue again. "I've seen the two of you together, and I know it's not an act. But regardless of your newfound feelings for my brother, it doesn't change the fact that you still find females attractive." Sharpay shook her head. "People don't just change overnight, Bolton. Not you, not anybody."

"Could you… could you get off of my lap?" Troy managed to ask, his face beet red. "I don't want Ryan to walk in on this."

"Why do you think I made sure Zeke would keep him busy?" Sharpay said, rolling her eyes, but standing up, anyway. "I told Zeke not to let Ryan come back until I texted him. I'm not stupid, you know. But do you see what I mean? You've been going on, saying over and over about how you're gay, now. But you're not." Sharpay considered it for a moment. "I wouldn't even go so far as to call you bisexual; unless, of course, you've been admiring the guys as well as the ladies."

"Chad called it Ryan-sexual," Troy recalled, reluctantly. "Being gay was just… so much easier to say. If I was only attracted to Ryan, everybody would give me shit about how if I just forgot about Ryan, I could be normal… With some chick." Troy rubbed his face, wearily. "I don't even fully understand it myself; I mean, like you said… I like the ladies. But I like Ryan too. So what's the difference?" he asked, plaintively. "No matter what I call myself, the end is the same: I'm with Ryan."

"Because even though you say you're gay… you know you're not… and so does Ryan. You've spent all your time convincing everybody that you're gay, but it's all a lie. When you come down to it, you're still mainly attracted to girls, and Ryan knows it. And at the end of the day, he'll still have doubts that a guy like you, who has the entire female gender at his beck and call, would go for the blonde theatre queer. That blow-up about Gabriella this morning just proves my point. Lord knows, it's a reasonable explanation, and a lot more likely than the idea that the East High Golden Boy is suddenly craving cock." Sharpay shrugged. "And there will never be anything you can do about it. You'll have to prove yourself time and time again to him… and you always have to keep in mind… is it worth it? Is he worth it?"

"Yes," Troy said, automatically. Then he smiled, ruefully. "Chad said something along the same lines, earlier. 'The serenity to accept the things I can't change,' eh?"

"Sure," Sharpay said, rolling her eyes. "Whatever helps you sleep at night. Zeke should be done with the popcorn by now…," she muttered, texting furiously with her phone. "We'd better get this movie started…"

"But what about the other thing?" Troy asked, confused. "You said there were two things."

"I don't want to blow your mind with too much information at once," Sharpay said, rolling her eyes. "You should be talking to my brother about this, anyway." Sharpay sighed as she took in Troy's blank expression. "If you get a chance… ask him about who Keith Harker is. There's a reason why you haven't heard about him, before."

Troy opened his mouth to ask Sharpay for more information, but Zeke entered the room, his arms full of drinks and a big bowl of popcorn. Ryan trailed behind him, carrying only a shaker of salt.

"Are we ready for this movie now?" Sharpay asked, irritation in her voice. "That popcorn took forever."

"But Sharpay, you said," Zeke started protesting, before being shushed into silence. Ryan merely gave his sister a suspicious glance, before casting a wary eye on his boyfriend. Troy immediately felt guilty, even though he knew that he'd done nothing wrong. Well. He was pretty sure he hadn't done anything wrong. Besides not making Sharpay get off of his lap immediately.

Troy shook that stray thought away. "I'm ready for this movie," he said, his eyes trained on his boyfriend. He barely noticed Zeke handing him a bowl of popcorn. "You picked it out, right?"

"Yeah," Ryan said, almost reluctantly. "It's one of the only Jim Carrey movies I actually like." He hesitated, looking down at Troy. Troy could only assume his boyfriend was trying to decide whether to reclaim his spot on the opposite end of the loveseat or sit closer to Troy. For his own part, Troy wasn't entirely sure where he wanted Ryan to sit, as it felt like there was some intangible distance between them. But before he knew he found himself patting the space next to him, his eyebrows raised as if to ask the question.. Do you want to?

Ryan actually smiled, faintly, as he settled down next to Troy. Troy hesitated a moment, before putting his arm around Ryan. Ryan immediately rested his head on Troy's shoulder, as if all the fighting they had been doing all day had never happened. Troy internally sighed, as he was still no closer to understanding Ryan than before. Sharpay had been helpful, loath as Troy was to admit it, but Troy somehow thought that that wasn't the real issue at the moment. If he didn't know better… he'd almost say that Sharpay was almost… reluctant… to tell him who Keith Harker was. And the reason why Troy had never heard the name until today. Troy somehow knew that he wasn't going to like what he heard.

Troy settled back in his seat slightly, as the movie began. "Random Thoughts for Valentine's Day, 2004. Today is a holiday invented by greeting card companies to make people feel like crap." Well, it definitely wasn't going to be the energetic movie Troy had hoped for, but Troy had faith in Ryan's pick.

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"That was a good movie, Ryan," Troy said, as he sat down in a comfortable desk chair. After the movie was over, the male couple had politely excused themselves from Sharpay's company, and had adjourned to the comfort and safety of Ryan's room. Troy, in particular, had been rather eager to get out of Sharpay's presence, as he was still feeling a little guilty about the unexpected close encounter. Ryan, from what Troy could tell, had actually gotten even quieter and morose. Which made sense, considering the fact that the movie, though good, was not the most uplifting of movies. "It got a little confusing at parts, but at least you helped me muddle through those scenes."

"That's what boyfriends are for, Troy," Ryan said absently, busying himself with the hanging up of his clothing purchases. Since that seemed like something the Evanses would more likely entrust to a maid or somebody like that, Troy was pretty sure it was just an excuse to not look Troy in the eye.

A boyfriend should be somebody who actually communicates their problems to their significant other, Troy wanted to blurt out, but stopped himself. No doubt that would only make things worse.

"So, what do you want to do?" Troy asked, making an effort to keep his voice nice and calm. "It's still fairly early in the night; by this time last week, the party had barely started."

"But unlike last week, I'm pretty tired," Ryan countered, his voice sharp. "I'm not really in the mood, tonight. But if you're still wide awake, the movie room's more than likely empty by now. Or the Jacuzzi." He still wasn't looking at his boyfriend as he spoke.

"I came here tonight to spend the time with you," Troy responded, quietly but firmly. "I didn't come here to watch a movie by myself while you slept up here, mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you," Ryan tried to protest, turning around, but Troy could tell that even Ryan wasn't believing his own words.

"Bullshit," Troy said, before he could help himself. "If you're mad at me, fine. By this time, I'm used to it. But what sucks is, you won't even tell me what the hell I did wrong. You're… you're Kate Winslet!" Troy blurted out. Ryan looked sorta confused about that one, but Troy didn't feel like explaining what he meant. "Why can't we just forget about Gabriella and all the problems she's caused?"

"'Blessed are the forgetful, for they get the better even of their blunders,'" Ryan quoted immediately, his voice soft. He walked around to the opposite side of the bed, though he made no effort to get in.

"What do you mean?" Troy asked, a little confused. "I know that was in the movie, but I wasn't sure I caught the meaning of it."

"I think Nietzsche means that if you let go of the past, and forget the bad things, you can live a happier life," Ryan answered, shrugging. "That's how I've always interpreted it, at least."

"Not bad advice," Troy said, his voice suggestive.

"No, not necessarily bad advice," Ryan admitted, grudgingly. "But unrealistic at times. After all, if you forget the bad experiences, you might make the same mistakes you did before."

"Who is Keith Harker?" Troy blurted out, without bothering to come up with a segue.

For a second, Troy actually thought he was going to experience Ryan going absolutely ballistic, as the blonde's face turned bright red in anger. Then, with an effort, Ryan managed to gain control of his emotions.

"I see you've been talking to Sharpay," Ryan said, his voice sharp and biting. "Did she manage to divulge any other information that she had no business spreading?"

"No!" Troy was back-pedalling furiously trying not to fall in the huge crevasse that had suddenly opened under him. "I didn't ask her about any of this."

"And just what did she tell you about him?" Ryan asked, ignoring Troy's defence.

"Nothing," Troy said, hoping that this would placate his boyfriend as least a little. "She just said to ask you about him, and about why I've never heard of him."

"You've never heard about him because I don't talk about him," Ryan said, darkly. "I thought my boyfriend would have shown me enough respect to support that decision."

"From the guy who said that his dating history is an open book?" Troy countered. "Easy words to say, when you assumed that I would never hear about this Keith guy."

With that, the fight left Ryan's eyes, as his shoulders fell. He looked almost… defeated. "I don't want to talk about it," Ryan muttered, as he sat down on the side of the bed with his back facing Troy. "I'm… I'm tired. I just want to go to bed."

"Come on," Troy said, his voice soothing. He climbed up on the bed, approaching Ryan's slumped back. He wrapped his arms around Ryan, embracing him reassuringly. Ryan seemed to fight the embrace at first, but eventually leaned back into it. "I don't know what happened, but I know that it must've hurt you a lot. Have you really shared what happened with anybody but Sharpay?"

"Sharpay doesn't even know," Ryan mumbled, resting his chin on one of Troy's arms. "All she knows is that I knew a guy named Keith Harker, and he hurt me somehow. She never even knew that we even dated. It just… it just felt awful enough, without getting the Queen of Histrionics into the fray." He slightly turned his head towards Troy. "I just… I just didn't want you to judge me for being so stupid."

"Please, tell me," Troy said, almost whispering his words into Ryan's ear. "I promise, nothing you say could ever change the way I feel about you. Just… get it out."

"Okay," Ryan said, his voice shaky. "But this stays between the two of us, okay? No telling Sharpay, or Chad, or anybody else. Not even on your deathbed."

"Cross my heart," Troy said, sincerely. "Nobody will ever find out from me."

And with a faltering tone, Ryan began his story.

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And at long last, there it is. A frustrating chapter, in all ways imaginable. A few brief notes. As I indicated, I had problems finding my voice in this chapter, and what came out was definitely not the fluff that some pictured for this chapter. So if this chapter seems a little bit different than the previous ones.. My apologies. I'm hoping not to get too flamed for this chapter, as it is indeed necessary for these things to happen. I've got the road map in my head, have had it for some time now, and will be taking the quickest route from here to the end.

Also, I honestly need to know if anybody still cares about seeing the end of the story. I'm not trying to duck out of writing it, but I don't blame anybody for losing interest in this story. After all, it did take a long time for this chapter to show up. A negative response or no response at all will let me know to give it a rest, while a positive one will keep me writing, at a much faster pace. Cross my heart.

Squall Thrawn


	27. I Want Your Drama The Touch of Your Hand

A/N: And yes, I have returned with another installment of what is starting to feel like an epic. Once again, time has gotten away from me, and what was meant to be a quickie took a little longer. But I decided to find a decent stopping point in what I already had, and leave you lovely readers in suspense no longer. Which brings to the point of how much I appreciated everybody's reviews as they encouraged me to keep going, which obviously I will. I'll probably revert back to the smaller chapters of old, which seemed to be much easier on me. And, despite that, I'm cutting none of the story out, and will bring it to an end the way I'd always intended to.

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, and thus is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of any and all celebrities mentioned. If you are underage, or if you are offended by such stories, leave now! Also, High School Musical is the property of Disney. It's not mine!

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Picking Up the Pieces of a Lost Night

By Squall Thrawn

Chapter 27 - I Want Your Drama, The Touch of Your Hand

"I don't really remember the first time I met Keith Harker," Ryan said, his gaze fixed on some random part of the wall. Troy, his arms still around his boyfriend, said nothing, letting the blonde tell the story in his own time. "It was nothing like when I met Drake, or Peter Mercer. I remember, quite clearly, when I met each of them. Like a moment engraved on my memory. But Keith? I met him at the community theatre where my sister and I performed. I think I'd already done a few shows where he was in the cast, so by the time I actually got to know him, I'd known his name for a while, and he was already somewhat of a presence in my life."

"What about me?" Troy asked, curiously. "Do you remember the first time you met me?"

Ryan actually managed to chuckle, though it sounded a bit hollow. "Troy, we've been in school together since, like, forever. I have no idea when we first met… first day of kindergarten, maybe?"

"Oh," Troy responded, trying not to sound disappointed.

"I do have a memory of that time, of the two of us," Ryan said, turning his head a little to catch Troy's gaze. He even had a slight smile on a face, Troy noted. "We were in first or second grade, I think."

"Really?" Troy asked, perking up.

"Yeah," Ryan said, rolling his eyes at Troy's reaction. "You tossed a basketball that hit me right in the head. You and Danforth were horsing around during recess, and the ball didn't exactly go the way you expected it to."

"I… I did that?" Troy asked, a little stunned. "I don't even remember that. I hope I apologized for that."

"You just said 'Oops,' and Danforth started giggling," Ryan said, dryly. "So, a little less than the apology I was entitled to. Sharpay, of course, tried to find out who did it, but I wouldn't tell her. You know, Troy, if I told her about that tonight, she would still want revenge for it; you know how she is with grudges."

"I'm sorry for throwing a basketball at your head," Troy said, tightening his grip on Ryan momentarily.

"I've gotten over it," Ryan said, laughing slightly. He managed to turn his head enough to plant a kiss on Troy's chin.

"Anyway," Ryan said, continuing his story, " I got to know Keith Harker during our freshman year. I was… I was a bit of a mess, my freshman year. Nobody noticed, of course; I'm pretty good at keeping these sort of things to myself. I was still trying to figure out who I was, and if who I turned to be would be acceptable. I'd known what homosexuality was for quite some time by this point; after all, I've done theatre for most of my life. But outside of the theatre world, I didn't really see anybody else who was that way. My parents had a lot of rich friends, and not once did I ever see anybody who was like me. I mean, afterwards, I realized that there were gays already in my life, even among the jet-setting crowd, and there were certainly gays in the media. But I felt isolated, like theatre was my only safe haven. And even though my parents were just as accepting then as they are now, I was still afraid that they'd be concerned about what their rich friends would say."

Ryan swallowed audibly, before continuing. "Of course, Sharpay was being her usual self, always hogging the spotlight. And though I wanted so badly to push her to the side and take my share of the attention, I was afraid that if I did that, people might figure out what I was. That if I got up on stage and performed in front of the entire audience, they'd be able to 'spot the queer,' and do God knows what to me. So it was like this constant internal battle for me, trying to figure out what I should do, who I should be. And then Keith Harker showed up in my life."

Troy had no words for his boyfriend, beyond a few trite remarks. He wasn't quite sure where the story was going, but knew it wasn't going to have a happy ending. So instead he planted a kiss on Ryan's head.

"Keith was this blond, California surfer type," Ryan said, squeezing his eyes shut as if he wanted to block out the memory completely. "He was a few years older than us, nearly eighteen. Slightly crooked smile, caring eyes. On the surface, at least," Ryan said, his voice cracking slightly. "Not really an actor with star quality, but still, a solid performer. Then, in the spring of our freshman year, the community theatre decided to put on A Midsummer Night's Dream. Ever since I had first seen it performed, years ago, it had been my dream to play the role of Puck. It's such a huge role, and very hard to pull off successfully, but that only made me want it more."

"I think I've seen bits and pieces of that," Troy said, trying his best to contribute something to Ryan's story. And to let Ryan know that he was following along.

"Sharpay, naturally, was furious that they picked Midsummer Night's Dream, since the best role was for a male. And don't think she didn't try to persuade the director that a female Puck would be new and innovative," Ryan added, dryly. "But the director wanted to do a more traditional version of the play, so that meant she was out of luck. After that rejection, though, Shar decided that guaranteeing that her brother got the part would be good enough. So she helped me practice my audition, for hours and hours and hours. She was a slave driver, I tell you, but I never would've complained. Because it was Sharpay, putting her full energy into supporting me, her brother. That didn't happen too much, before that summer at Lava Springs. And I swear, I was the best Puck there ever was," Ryan said, his voice choked with emotion. "At least, when I was practicing with Sharpay. I embraced my inner diva, played the role to the hilt, and was, for all intents in purposes, Puck. There was no Ryan Evans."

"But then came the auditions," Ryan said, his voice bitter. "And all those moments, which felt so natural at home, suddenly seemed really awkward. All I could think about, as I stood there on stage looking out at the empty auditorium, was the crowds that I knew would be sitting there, come opening night. The crowds, and my parents. And I knew that if I performed the same way on that stage that I did in our private studio, everybody would know about me. The cloak would be lifted, and everybody would see me in all my gayness. And I choked. I delivered one of the worst auditions of my life, and watched as my sister practically had a heart attack in the audience."

"I'm sorry," Troy said, wanting to say something, but not having a clue on what else to say.

"So am I," was Ryan's simple response. "If I knew then, what I knew now… I wouldn't have held back, frightened at what the crowd might think of me. That lesson I taught you, about being true and honest with yourself, and having the courage to express that… I still had to learn it. And Keith Harker only made things worse."

"How did he do that?" Troy asked, sensing they were getting to the heart of the matter.

"He approached me, afterwards," Ryan said, his words coming out faster now, as though if he didn't get them out fast, they'd never come out. "He seemed sympathetic towards the crushing disappointment that had happened to me out on stage, and offered me a shoulder to lean on, and a willing ear to listen to whatever was so preoccupying my mind, that I'd crash and burn that badly." Ryan barked a laugh, with no hint of mirth in it. "I was actually thrilled that he was taking an interest in me, that he cared about what was troubling me."

Ryan swallowed, and then continued. "After the auditions were over, Keith offered to give me a ride home. I didn't want to face my parents, knowing that they'd ask me questions about my blown audition. And then offer me commiseration, when they didn't even understand why I did so poorly. I didn't want that, just as I didn't want to hear Sharpay picking apart my performance, cataloguing every single misstep, or parts that she felt I could've done better on. So I eagerly took Keith up on his offer."

"Oh God," Troy gasped, afraid of where Ryan's story might be going. "He didn't… did he?"

"No," Ryan said, tightening his grip on Troy's arm. "I honestly don't think that was ever his plan, but even if it was, he must've changed his mind. Instead, he came out to me, to encourage me to do the same. It's like he had me figured out even before I did. Or at least, before I'd really accepted it. That was the night of my first kiss," Ryan said, practically spitting the words out. "At the time, it felt so special. I had somebody who cared about me, and knew what I was going through. It wasn't until it was too late, that I found out that not only did he know what I was going through, he used that knowledge to manipulate me."

"What did he do?" Troy asked, afraid to ask, yet needing to know the answer anyway.

"Nothing, at first," Ryan said, his voice a little softer. "Little moments, here and there. Sly looks during rehearsals, a few comments that only I would get the meaning of. A few pointed observations about the guy who won the part of Puck, and how Keith thought I would've done a better job. Just little confidence boosts, feeding into my ego and making me think that Keith was the only one who understood me." Ryan shook his head. "Of course, I can sit back, now, and analyse the situation for what it was. Back then, I believed it all. Especially when he started in on my parents, insinuating that the affluent Evans family wouldn't be too accepting of a gay in the closet."

"You believed him," Troy stated rather than asked.

"Why wouldn't I?" Ryan asked, his voice strained. "I'd already started believing the good things he was telling me about myself, and he knew that one of my deepest fears was of my parents disowning me. Even though my parents had never demonstrated the slightest bit of homophobia, even though they actively encouraged me to use the theatre to 'find myself,' I was still afraid that when it came down to it, they'd change their minds. So he just fed into that fear, and made me feel even more isolated from my family, who really didn't deserve any of the attitude that followed. They could feel me withdrawing into myself, and I'm sure it must have worried them greatly. So they started prying, or rather, had Sharpay start prying into my life. And you know how my sister is- a bull in a china shop is putting it mildly. And Keith had me convinced that it was all a huge witch hunt, the result of which would be disownment… and a possible burning at the stake." Ryan sucked in a breath. "I was so monumentally stupid then, that it actually believed any of this. All because my parents didn't say, flat-out, 'Ryan, if you're gay, we still love you no matter what.' Because they didn't want to put any pressure on me, should I actually turn out to be straight. They tried the subtle route, and Keith insured that everything was cast in the worst possible light."

"Why would he do all of that?" Troy asked, mystified. "Why would he go through all that trouble just to split you off from your family?"

"Control?" Ryan said, shrugging. "Some people like having power over others, it gives them a rush. Because of his manipulation of the circumstances, Keith could control the situation. Since I felt like he was the only person I could talk to, he used that to his advantage. Deciding where we'd go out, what we'd do. Meeting only a few of his select friends. And he definitely didn't want me to so much as talk to any other cute boy. Keith was many things, few of which were good, but more than anything else, he was jealous. Once, he yelled at me for fifteen minutes simply because one of the lighting assistants asked me for my help in moving something. According to Keith, I was just using that as an excuse to flirt with the assistant. I hadn't realized that exchanging words with a cute boy was a hanging offense."

Troy caught the unspoken rebuke in those words. That was very similar to what had happened when he'd come upon Ryan and Jimmie in the hallways, and Troy immediately started feeling ashamed.

"In a way, it was like a deep pit I was slowly falling into, but all the while, I had no idea how deep I had really fallen. I thought that all I'd have to do was reach out, to catch onto one of the sides." Ryan's voice was full of disgust, but all of his mocking seemed to be directed at himself. "And then… then somebody tossed me a rope. My parents, of course, had no way of knowing for certain why I was so withdrawn and moody, but that didn't stop them from guessing, anyway. My mother was telling me about their recent dinner with some rich friends of theirs- the Gracins. I had been invited, but Keith had persuaded me to decline, as he wanted to 'spend some quality time' with me. Then my mother oh-so-casually mentioned that the Gracins' twenty-something son had been there, with his partner."

"My eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets," Ryan said, his voice slightly warmer, almost chuckling. "I repeated that word- partner. And my mother, still playing the casual card, repeated it right back. And told me that the Gracins' only son was gay, was in a long-term relationship with another man, and that his parents couldn't be prouder of him." Ryan actually smiled. "I asked her how she could be so nonchalant about such a thing- my voice must've given me away, I was so shocked. And what she said after that, I'll never forget. She said that she saw just as much love in that boy's eyes when he looked at his partner as she did when my father looked at her. And that there was no way that she could ever object to such a relationship. And then," Ryan said, his voice growing stronger, "she looked right at me and told me that she would accept whoever I chose to share my life with, be it man or woman. I was her son, and she and Dad would love me, no matter what." At this point, to Troy, Ryan felt like he was almost bursting with joy. The one silver lining to this rather dismal dark cloud of a story.

Troy knew that he should feel happiness at Ryan's words, at the level of acceptance that the Evanses had bestowed on their son, but he couldn't help but feel just a little bit saddened, and bitter. Even, though Troy was loathe to admit it, a little bit resentful. His heart certainly went out to Ryan, and the self-destructive path he had briefly followed, but Troy found himself more than a little annoyed. Ryan had treated his parents and sister poorly, and yet had still been accepted with open arms. And yet, no matter how much Troy had tried to play the dutiful son, trying to make his parents proud… He hadn't received anything resembling that same sort of treatment, when he told them about his relationship with Ryan. Sure, his mother was coming to grips with things, and, given time, she would perhaps one day reach the same point that Mrs. Evans had, but his father… At this point, Troy was going to consider himself lucky if he managed to salvage any sort of relationship at all with his father. Was he not good enough to receive that kind of unconditional love? Was he…

"Troy?" Ryan's concerned voice brought Troy's thoughts back to the here and now.

"I'm happy for you, that your parents said that when you needed it the most," Troy said, trying to sound like he meant it. "What happened with Keith, after that?" Troy's words sounded flat, even to his ears, but Ryan either didn't notice or was pretending not to notice.

"Well, as you might have guessed, we didn't last long after that," Ryan said, shrugging. "Once I was able to see through his lies, and realize that my parents weren't going to disown me for having a crush on Leo DiCaprio, Keith really didn't have a hold on me. I was with him for a little while after the talk I had with my mother, but he could tell something was off. Then he made the mistake of pulling his jealous shit on me, and instead of apologizing, I slapped him in the face. I told him that I wasn't his possession, and I could talk to whomever I wanted. Then I told him we were through."

"I'll bet he didn't take that too well," Troy said, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, he took it quietly enough, once I told him that if he ever bothered me again, I would have him arrested for having sex with a minor," Ryan said, bluntly.

"And was he your…" Troy started to ask but trailed off, not knowing if he wanted to hear the answer.

"Yes, he was," Ryan said, simply. Then he sighed. "I really don't feel like talking about this, any more. I trust you understand about why I don't talk about Keith Harker at all. I'd rather pretend that name, and that person, don't exist."

"But if you hadn't met him, we might not be here, together," Troy said, quietly. "Sure, you probably still would have ended up coming out of the closet, but when? College? By then, you'd be at NYU, and I'd be at U of A, and we'd probably never even have seen each other again. The Ryan I met, and became friends with… the Ryan I ended up falling in love with… he knows exactly who he is, and isn't ashamed of it. And if not for Keith Harker, who knows when that might have happened?" Troy shrugged his shoulders.

"I hadn't thought of it, like that," Ryan said, softly. "After everything that happened, all I could see were the negative things that he had done to me, the shit that he had pulled…"

"You have no idea how often I used to lay awake at night, wondering about the 'what ifs' when it came to my break-up with Gabriella," Troy said, his voice still low. "At first, I was mainly second-guessing my decisions. What if I had made up with her right after our break-up? What if I had tried out for the musical like she'd wanted me too? Then, when I found out that she was cheating on me… I started asking myself why I ever went out with her. But if not for her, I never would've tried out for the musical. Never would've done a lot of things, I suspect. So even though we ended so badly, I still don't regret dating Gabriella. Well, mostly," Troy amended.

There was silence in the room for a while, as the boys sat there, lost in thought and retrospection. Ryan finally broke the quiet, though, with a soft chuckle. "God, this is definitely not how I pictured tonight happening," Ryan said, smiling softly at Troy. "My original version had whipped cream and chocolate-covered strawberries. I can't say I expected the evening to resemble an After-School Special - or a soap opera."

"Well, you know us," Troy said, shrugging a little guiltily. "We always seem to take the road less travelled by."

"Do you… do you want to watch another movie?" Ryan asked, smiling a little shyly. "The evening may have gotten off to a rocky start, but we can still change that. I promise that the movie I have in mind will be a lot more light-hearted than the first one."

"This isn't another movie time with Sharpay and Zeke, is it?" Troy asked, hopefully.

"Of course not!" Ryan replied, promptly. "We played nice with them earlier, now it's our time. I think you'll definitely enjoy this one, if you can get over the fact that the three of the most unlikely actors ever, are in the starring roles."

"Now I'm intrigued," Troy said, raising his eyebrows. "Are we talking Jim Carrey in a Convincing Serious Role sort of unlikely, or what?"

"I'm talking about unlikely on a whole other scale," Ryan assured him. "I'm talking about Agent Smith in Drag sort of unlikely." Ryan grinned as he said that.

"No way!" Troy blurted out, his eyes bugging out. "Why have you not shown me this, yet?"

Ryan just laughed as he made his way to the door. "I'll be right back with the movie; I took it downstairs earlier. It was the movie we were supposed to watch, before…" Ryan blushed, slightly. "Did you want any more popcorn, or anything like that?"

Troy shook his head. "Maybe some water," he said, after considering the question a while longer. "If you don't mind?"

"One water, coming right up," Ryan said, smiling at the brunette. "If you want to get comfortable, too, go right ahead- we probably won't make it all the way through the movie. I wasn't kidding, earlier, when I said I was tired. All that shopping with Sharpay and Zeke wore me out. Not to mention the emotional stuff that…," Ryan didn't finish his thought, though he still gave Troy a tight-lipped smile. "Anyway, I'll be back."

Ryan only made it a few more steps before he turned around. "Hey, Troy?" he said, his voice a little more hoarse.

"Yeah?" Troy replied, immediately

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before about Keith Harker. You deserved to hear the truth." By the end of his sentence, Ryan's gaze seemed to be fixed to some indeterminate spot on the floor.

"Not as sorry as I am, about Jimmie Zara," Troy said, as he quietly made his way over to Ryan. He gently raised Ryan's chin up, so that he was gazing into his eyes. "I can't believe I actually thought, even for a second, that you'd…," Troy stopped himself, marvelling again at the sheer unlikeliness of what he'd accused Ryan of. "Go get the movie," Troy said, in a softer voice. "I'll be waiting for you. And, like you said… I'll get comfortable," he added, that last part sounding just the slightest bit suggestive.

Ryan blushed rather impressively at what Troy was intimating, but didn't say a word before leaving the room.

Left to his own devices at the moment, Troy hesitated a bit before he indeed started making himself comfortable. Though Ryan was correct in saying that the night hadn't progressed the way either of them had expected it to, Troy still wanted to make it memorable. With his heart was beating faster as he considered what he was doing, Troy began to remove his shirt, shoes, and socks. He hesitated, however, after he removed his pants and had reached his boxers. Honestly, Troy still felt like, at times, that he was still floating around the ocean clinging to a life preserver. His relationship with Ryan was certainly tumultuous enough, and Troy wasn't entirely sure he was ready to start swimming on his own. Regardless of the almost one-eighty in the mood permeating the room, Troy knew that a lot of their issues still remained unresolved. Sure, Ryan had told him about Keith Harker, and his story, while sad, had at least enlightened Troy to some extent. It was clear that Ryan had a issue with controlling boyfriends, though too much conflicting information had Troy wondering what the issue actually was. Ryan's anger over Troy's jealousy was one thing, but Troy still remembered Ryan saying that he'd at least somewhat appreciated his ex Peter's jealousy when Ryan had hung out with Troy. That it was proof that he actually cared.

And coupled with all that was the sheer fact that, even though he had been the one initiate things, at least tonight, Troy was still somewhat uncomfortable with the physical aspect of their relationship. Losing his virginity to Gabriella the previous summer, Troy was no stranger to hetero sex, but then again, that was what society and the movies had prepared him for. So far, making out with Ryan hadn't posed any problems for him, and apparently he was okay with hot, sweaty, erotic hand jobs in Ryan's convertible when it was parked on a bluff overlooking the desert.

Despite that, though, Troy still remembered how awkward it had been, when he'd first gotten into the shower with Ryan. And while, like any other hot-blooded teenage male, Troy had no problems with receiving blowjobs, he was quite frankly a little scared of being on the giving end. That sure wasn't in any of the sex manuals Troy had managed to get a hold of. (Though Troy almost regretted turning Chad down when his friend had made a joke about buying Troy "The Joy of Gay Sex." Troy had been sure Chad was kidding about that. Mostly.) Some of the things Troy had found on the internet had been at least a little more illuminating, but he was still skittish enough to avoid the more informative, and likely more hardcore, sex sites. To say that Troy was shying away completely from the idea of anal sex was, quite frankly, understating the point.

Troy figured that in a typical gay relationship, the more experienced partner would take the lead and guide the newbie through everything. But he also knew that Ryan wasn't going to push anything on Troy, because of those feelings of discomfort that Ryan knew Troy felt. It was up to him to determine the pace of their sex life, and it was with this in mind that he made his decision about his boxers. Soon, he was sitting up in bed, waiting for his blonde haired boyfriend.

"Sorry it took me a little longer," came Ryan's voice from down the hallway. "Zeke was leaving, and I had to…" Ryan trailed off as he caught sight of Troy in his bed, his bare chest clearly visible from the doorway. "Hey, Troy," he managed, his voice a little husky. "You look… you look comfortable."

"Oh, I am," Troy said, smiling a little at Ryan's somewhat dazed and clearly lustful look. "Do you… want to join me?"

"Give me just a second," Ryan said, pulling himself together. "Here's your water, by the way," he added, handing Troy a sealed bottle of Aquafina. Ryan quickly made his way over to the DVD player, putting in the movie that Troy suspected they wouldn't end up seeing much of. As expected, Ryan took longer to undress than Troy had, as he had more on, and also took the time to fold them up, neatly.

Ryan had just made it down to his own boxers when he glanced over at Troy, as if wondering how far Troy had gotten undressed. Once again, Ryan's actions spoke louder than his words that Troy was setting the pace in their relationship. Instead of saying anything, Troy just lifted the covers, allowing Ryan to see him. Ryan just smiled at him, clearly taking in Troy's tanned physique, but not acting at all disappointed that Troy wasn't completely naked. In the end, Troy had left his boxers on, figuring that if they wanted to, they could still remove them. Relaxing in a bed, watching a movie… Troy felt a little awkward about just laying there naked with another person, be it male or female. He had never done it with Gabriella, and it felt a little weird to be doing it with Ryan, now. Besides, Troy thought to himself, he had come a long way, from freaking out at even the idea of lying in the same bed as Ryan. How things had changed.

Ryan quickly got under the covers with Troy, the larger boy immediately wrapping his arms around the blonde. Ryan merely sighed contently, and rested his head on Troy's forearm. Troy's other hand, after a slight hesitation, had found itself just above Ryan's hip, lightly caressing the pale exposed skin. Though the two boys still had their boxers on, they were still pressed so closely together that Troy scarcely noticed. All Troy could feel was the press of Ryan's soft skin, the warmth coming from his boyfriend's body, and it was all he could do from not popping an immediate boner.

"I may get spoiled and insist that we watch all movies like this," Ryan said, softly, as he shifted slightly in Troy's embrace.

"I could get into that," Troy said, smirking, "but it might get awkward for Zeke and Sharpay. And Chad would just get jealous and demand to be included."

"You know what I mean," Ryan chided him, mildly. He reached up to slap Troy lightly on the arm. "They don't get to see you like this, unless I say so. This view of Troy Bolton is mine, alone."

"Staking your claims on me, again?" Troy said, smiling. "The last time you did that, that hickey wouldn't go away for the longest time."

"Well, I didn't hear any complaints from you at the time," Ryan said, chuckling. "Well, no serious ones. And you sure seemed to enjoy our time in my convertible."

Troy hardened, slightly, just thinking about that night. Ryan didn't make it any better, when, as he shifted slightly in Troy's embrace, his ass brushed against Troy's member.

It wasn't until Troy felt Ryan do it two, three more times, that he realized that it hadn't been an accident. Ryan, as usual, knew exactly what he was doing, and was doing his best to turn his mostly straight boyfriend on. And damned if it wasn't working. Troy let his hand, the one that was resting on Ryan's side, creep down until it was pressed against Ryan's pale, but muscled abs. Using his newfound leverage, Troy began to rock back and forth, mirroring Ryan's earlier movements.

"Did I give you an idea?" Ryan said, teasingly, but the hoarseness of his reply gave away his own rising lust.

"Maybe," Troy said, moving his head a little to nibble at Ryan's neck. "Maybe its time for you to have a massive hickey on your throat."

"No!" Ryan said, struggling to get away. "With my skin, that thing will take forever to go away! I don't want to see that in all my prom pictures!"

"Stop squirming," Troy muttered, trying to keep the blonde in his arms. "You keep that up, and I'll be done before we even begin." Ryan immediately stopped struggling, for the most part, though he still tried to move his neck out of Troy's range. Troy, himself, was silent for a moment, as he thought about his next move. Then with a determined look on his face, Troy moved his hand downwards, where it found Ryan's cock, which was making a rather impressive tent in his boxers. Baby steps, grab Ryan's cock. It was definitely not the first time Troy had had his hand around Ryan's member, but still made him pause. This was not even close to sex with a female, but the fact that it was Ryan helped him slowly override his natural resistance.

Ryan moaned, apparently unaware of the constant war in Troy's thoughts, and arched his back as if to achieve even more contact with Troy than they already had. As if to oblige him, Troy slowly pushed the front of Ryan's boxers down, and exposed his pale member. His own cock had already protruded through the fly, and was, at times, poking Ryan in the rear.

"You probably shouldn't remove my boxers completely," Ryan said, in a husky whisper. "Otherwise I'm gonna end up impaled on Troy Jr., there. I'm not ready for that, yet."

In other words, Ryan didn't think Troy was ready for that yet, but then again, the brunette wasn't disagreeing. Instead of responding, Troy began to slowly stroke Ryan's penis, which was already as hard as a rock.

"Oh, God, Troy, keep going," Ryan said, panting. He bit his lower lip, as he resumed rocking back and forth.

Troy found the rhythm, and began rocking as well, in time with Ryan's thrusts. As usual, when the two were in the throes of sexual activity, Troy's initial skittishness had long vanished, and was replaced by the instincts of any normal, horny teenager. Troy was more than willing to jerk Ryan off into climax, but just as he was sensing that Ryan was close, the blonde removed Troy's hand.

"Not yet," Ryan said, in a throaty voice. "Not yet." Removing him from Troy's arms, he turned so that he was facing the brunette, lust clearly visible on his face. Troy scarcely had time to ask what Ryan was doing, before the blonde had leaned over and took Troy in his mouth.

"Oh… oh my," Troy gasped, feeling Ryan's warm mouth on his cock. Just as he noticed every time Ryan had given him head, Ryan was definitely better at this than Gabriella had ever been. In the beginning, she had had no clue was she was doing, and Troy had felt too awkward to say anything to help her along- apart from 'watch the teeth,' of course. But even when Gabriella had improved her technique, she never seemed to approach it with as much gusto as Ryan seemed to.

It was with the profoundest of regrets that Troy gently lifted Ryan's head to stop him. Ryan looked surprised, and confused at Troy's interruption. But Troy was already providing the explanation; instead of talking, he started shifting Ryan's hips closer to him. Ryan immediately cottoned on, and shifted the rest of the way, until they found themselves in a sixty-nine position.

"Didn't seem fair that I was getting all the attention," Troy explained, a little breathlessly. Ryan just grinned at him, and then swallowed Troy to the hilt. "Oh, god," Troy said, his eyes bugging out. With that action, it seemed all too easy for Troy to reach out and start stroking Ryan's own penis. It was almost strange, finding his own hand wrapped around a cock that wasn't his. To his hand, it felt like masturbation, but no matter how hard he stroked, his cock wouldn't feel it. But the sensations that were coming from that portion of his body more than made up for that, and caused him to increase his stroking. Ryan already had him close to the brink, but damn it if Troy wasn't going to do his best to get Ryan off at the same time.

For a second Troy was almost tempted to put his own mouth around Ryan's cock, and he actually leaned forward as if to do it, but at the last second, he backed off. He really wasn't ready for that, no matter how much he wanted to make Ryan feel good. He tried to make up for it by varying his stroking technique, and actually fondling Ryan's ballsac with his other hand, the first time he'd done so. Ryan began involuntarily moving his hips in time with the strokes, a sign that Troy was doing something right.

All the while, though, Ryan was still taking Troy in his mouth, sending waves of pleasure throughout his body. And Troy could feel himself getting ready to shoot. Ryan seemed to know that, too, because just before Troy began shooting, Ryan used his finger to stroke Troy's perineum. With a loud moan that Sharpay probably heard from across the hallway, Troy emptied himself in Ryan's mouth, his vision going black for an instant. Despite that, Troy's hand kept stroking Ryan's own cock, almost on instinct. Troy finally opened his eyes again, seeking out Ryan's own. As he gazed into his boyfriend's bright blue eyes, he could see the lust that was clearly there.

"I'm almost there, Troy," Ryan said, huskly, looking directly into Troy's own eyes. Then he licked his index finger, and reached behind him. Troy couldn't see exactly what he was doing, but he had a good idea, anyway, and he soon fell into the pace that Ryan set, one that betrayed the fact that Ryan was definitely ready to cum.

And cum he did, though Troy hadn't really planned this part out clearly enough, because the first few spurts hit him square in the face. He managed to move a little, as well as aim Ryan's cock slightly, so that the rest landed on his chest.

"Troy, that's…" Ryan said, the look on his face the perfect picture of shock and awe. "You have no idea how hot you look right now." Then he remembered himself. "I'm so sorry, though! I should've warned you!" Ryan paused for a second. "At least I managed to miss your eyes; it would be burning like hell, otherwise."

"It's… it's okay," Troy said, willing himself not to freak out. The presence of another man's semen on his face was definitely an uncomfortable situation in his book. But it was something that he had to deal with, if he was going to remain with Ryan. To show willing, as well as to get himself more receptive to this sort of thing, Troy licked his lips, feeling Ryan's cum on them. Like most teenage males, Troy had tried tasting his own, and had found it salty, but not horrible by any means. Ryan's was similar to that, and yet different all at once. Trying not to think of what he was doing, Troy managed to swallow, before forcing a smile on his face as he gazed back at Ryan.

"I'll get a washcloth," Ryan said, quietly, getting up from the bed. "It can be a bitch once it dries," he added needlessly, as if unsure of what else to say.

Ryan was only gone for a moment, as Troy collapsed back down onto the pillows. His previous sexual encounters with Ryan had been hot, on the whole, and had always left him with a satisfied feeling. But tonight's had Troy feeling a little weird, and somewhat awkward, and he wasn't sure why. Unless it was the whole not putting his mouth on Ryan's dick sort of thing. But if he'd done that, Troy almost felt like he would felt even more unsettled.

"Here we go," Ryan said, as he returned. Troy reached out as if to use the washcloth himself, but Ryan ignored the outstretched hand and began to gently wash off Troy's face himself. "I know that that was probably not your thing," Ryan said, softly, without a pause in his movements. "But you still looked really hot like that, Troy. I hope you can appreciate that, at least."

"I'll take your word for it," Troy managed to get out, feeling the cool caress of the washcloth on his face, removing the sticky semen from his face.

Ryan sighed. "You don't remember Rule 1 in our relationship, do you?" he asked, almost rhetorically. Troy just felt baffled. "Rule 1 is that we don't do anything we're not comfortable with. So you don't have to do anything you're not ready for. And definitely not because you think you're obligated to."

"But I feel bad," Troy protested, reaching up and grabbing Ryan's hand, the one with the washcloth in it. "You deserve more than a stop-and-start boyfriend. If I were gay…" Troy let his words die out, as he realized what he'd said. Though earlier in their relationship Troy had waffled back and forth between designations, he'd been claiming the label of gay for quite a while, now. Especially considering the new rumours involving him and Gabriella. So Troy was a little afraid about switching back to the earlier label, but his conversation with Sharpay had made it clear; he had to be completely honest with Ryan, no matter what.

To Ryan's credit, though, he didn't so much as blink at Troy's ever-changing status. If anything, Troy would've almost said that he… approved. "I don't want just any old gay boyfriend," Ryan said, his voice quiet as he sat down at Troy's side. "I want to be with you. You, Troy Bolton. I've told you before what I thought about labels, and how you shouldn't get caught up in them. If you're completely gay, or mostly straight but with just a hint of what Chad refers to as Ryan-sexual, or even just bisexual. I want to be with you, Troy. And I'd hope that you still want to be with me."

"Yes, I do," Troy said, immediately.

"And I knew, even at the beginning, that you were a complete novice when it came to sex with another man," Ryan said, matter-of-factly. "And I'm willing to wait until we're in your comfort zone. I really mean that, you know. I'm not just trying to make you feel better." He put the washcloth down, somewhere out of Troy's sight, before climbing back into bed. "Are you ready to go to sleep, now, or do you want to keep watching the movie?"

"I barely even noticed the movie was on," Troy confessed, grinning guiltily. "We'll watch it some other time, when we're more likely to stay awake." He turned over on his side, to begin spooning Ryan once again.

"I'm too tired to go again, Troy," Ryan warned him. "It's been a long day."

"Hey, I just wanted to cuddle," Troy objected, smiling at Ryan's reply. "Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"You say that, now," Ryan said, wryly. "That's how it starts, and then you find yourself with a dick in your hand that isn't your own."

"I'm willing to take that risk," Troy replied, glibly. That, he could handle.

"Night, Troy," Ryan said, softly.

"Good night, Ryan," Troy replied immediately. "Sweet dreams." He pressed a kiss onto the back of Ryan's neck, and could almost feel the smile that he was sure now covered Ryan's face. And as he felt himself sink into slumber, the last thought on his mind was that apparently with Ryan around, Troy wasn't so opposed to sleeping naked.

qpqp

Well, that's one half down, and another half to go. And just to reassure you, that second part is more than halfway done already. So yay.

Let me know what you thought of this! Especially what you thought of the revelation of Ryan's back story, or at least most of it. I always hate bringing OCs into stories, but there was nothing to be done about it. Too much? Not enough?

Squall Thrawn


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